US embassy cable - 05MANILA3946

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MANILA 003946 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/PMBS, EAP/IET, INR/EAP, INR/B 
USAID FOR CDOWNEY 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/26/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PINR, SOCI, RP 
SUBJECT: CATHOLIC CHURCH CHANGES TACK AND TAKES MORE 
RESTRAINED APPROACH ON POLITICAL ISSUES 
 
REF: A. MANILA 3697 
 
     B. VATICAN 0500 
     C. MANILA 3202 
     D. MANILA 3167 
     E. MANILA 2815 
 
Classified By: Acting Pol/C Joseph L. Novak 
for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  The Roman Catholic Church in the 
Philippines is changing tack in regard to its political role. 
 Under the leadership of the now-deceased Cardinal Sin, the 
Church assumed an activist posture, pressing for the ouster 
of two presidents, and at times indicating preferences for or 
against candidates for political office.  With Sin gone, the 
Church -- in line with Vatican teaching -- has taken steps to 
try to remove itself from a direct political role.  This was 
the case, for example, when the Catholic bishops declined to 
demand President Arroyo's resignation in July.  There are 
still elements of the Church -- particularly a group of 
leftist bishops -- that are urging that it take a more active 
political role.  In regard to social issues, such as GRP 
involvement in family planning, the Church continues to hew 
to a conservative line close to Vatican teaching, as was the 
case during the Sin era.  Although the Church is refining its 
role, it is clear that it plans to remain engaged and that it 
will become more active if it feels some sort of national 
crisis warrants its involvement.  End Summary. 
 
------------------ 
End of the Sin Era 
------------------ 
 
2.  (C) The Catholic Church in the Philippines is changing 
its posture in regard to its political role.  Under Jaime 
Cardinal Sin, the Church took an activist role.  (Note:  Sin 
became Archbishop of Manila in 1974 and retired from office 
in 2001.  He died in June 2005 -- see ref e.  End Note.) 
Sin, for example, played a key role in pressing for the 
ouster of Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and Joseph Estrada in 2001 
by urging crowds to join "People Power" protests and in other 
ways.  Speaking for the Church, he also at times indicated 
preferences for political candidates:  not a fan of Fidel 
Ramos, he basically indicated his desire that voters not 
support Ramos in the 1992 presidential race.  When Ramos won, 
Sin was not at all helpful to Malacanang and successfully 
opposed a proposal floated by Ramos supporters that the 
Constitution be adjusted to allow more than one presidential 
term.  He was also uncomfortable with Estrada's candidacy in 
1998 and made it clear that he would prefer other candidates 
to win the race, including current House Speaker Jose "Joe" 
de Venecia.  Sin was vocal on many other matters, such as 
peace in Mindanao, education, family planning (see para 8), 
etc.   Asked about Sin's activist posture, Alex Magno, a 
well-known political commentator, told Acting Pol/C that "Sin 
seemed to have an opinion on everything under the sun and he 
spoke out almost every day on something." 
 
------------------------- 
A More Restrained Posture 
------------------------- 
 
3.  (C) With Sin gone, the Church has taken steps to try to 
remove itself from a direct political role.  Observers have 
remarked on a "Sin effect" whereby members of the current 
hierarchy of the Church have viscerally reacted to his 
departure by pulling the Church back from overt involvement 
in political issues.  In part, this reaction is due to the 
resentment that many in the hierarchy felt towards Sin and 
the immense role he played in Church affairs for almost 30 
years.  In addition, many of the leaders of the Church today, 
such as Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio 
Rosales, and Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines 
(CBCP) President Archbishop Fernando Capalla, have made clear 
in discussions with emboffs that they simply do not believe 
that the Church should be directly involved in politics. 
While noting his respect for Sin, for example, Archbishop 
Capalla has told Acting Pol/C that he thinks "Sin went too 
far into politics on occasion to the detriment of the Church." 
 
4.  (SBU) This reluctance to get fully involved in politics 
was shown most clearly on July 10 when the CBCP during its 
annual meeting issued a statement on the ongoing political 
turbulence sparked by Opposition demands that Arroyo resign 
from office.  In its carefully crafted statement, the CBCP 
made clear that Arroyo had to be held accountable for her 
actions.  However, despite great pressure from close allies 
of the Church like former president Corazon Aquino, the 
Church declined to call for her resignation (see ref d). 
Some observers have commented that the CBCP statement would 
probably have taken a different stance if Sin had been 
involved in its drafting (Sin was very close to Corazon 
Aquino and may have been swayed by her).  Many observers also 
believe that if the CBCP had called for Arroyo's resignation, 
she would have been finished.  Due largely to the CBCP's 
non-interventionist posture, Arroyo has been able to recover 
her balance and survive in office. 
 
5.  (C) Another of the reasons for the Church's current 
posture relates to Vatican teaching.  During Pope John Paul 
II's reign, the Vatican repeatedly underscored that members 
of the Church should not get involved in politics and Sin was 
reportedly told at times by Vatican officials that he had 
gone too far.  More recently, Monsignor Adolfo Franco, the 
Papal Nuncio, addressed the bishops gathered at the CBCP's 
annual meeting in July.  Franco reportedly made clear to the 
group that it should keep out of politics to the full extent 
possible (refs b and c).  CBCP General Secretary Hernando 
Coronel told us that he did not think that Franco's speech 
"pressured" the bishops per se, but remarked that the 
bishop's heard his point loud and clear. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
A Clutch of Politically-Active Bishops 
-------------------------------------- 
 
6.  (C) There are elements of the Church that are urging that 
it take a more active political role.  Bishop Deogracias 
Iniquez, Bishop Antonio Tobias, Bishop Julio Labayen and 
several other bishops (possibly 5-8 of the total of 90) are 
known to be close to the left.  Most of these bishops come 
from poor areas and they advocate poverty alleviation 
programs at every opportunity.  They are also 
anti-"Globalization" and oppose mining by foreign firms and 
plans to raise the Value Added Tax (VAT).  Led by Iniquez, 
these bishops also demanded the resignation of Arroyo earlier 
this year.  Another group in the Church that has a bit of a 
leftist tilt is the Association of Major Religious Superiors 
of the Philippines (AMRSP), which represents priests and nuns 
involved in social work and human rights issues, among other 
matters.  AMRSP as a group came out in July in support of 
calls for Arroyo to resign.  Overall, however, the Church has 
moved a long way from the 1960s-80s when many priests and 
nuns and some bishops maintained close links with the 
Communist Party of the Philippines/New People's Army 
(CPP/NPA).  Some even went into the jungle to join the NPA. 
Taking a cue from the Vatican, the Church in the Philippines 
as a whole strongly condemned "Liberation Theology," an 
interpretation of Catholic teaching that advocates political 
and social activism, and the influence of leftist thinking 
gradually has ebbed in Church circles. 
 
7.  (C) Although he is not left-leaning per se, Archbishop 
Oscar Cruz, one of 16 archbishops, has been very engaged in 
anti-jueteng (illegal gambling) efforts.  Cruz testified in 
the recent Senate hearings on jueting and has brought forward 
witnesses who he says prove his case about jueteng-related 
corruption.  Cruz has also made no secret about his view that 
members of President Arroyo's immediate family have been 
involved in jueteng profiteering.  While he would deny it, 
Cruz is also known to be close to Opposition circles who want 
Arroyo to resign. 
 
-------------------------- 
No Change on Social Issues 
-------------------------- 
 
8.  (SBU) In regard to social issues, the Church continues to 
hew to a conservative stance in line with Vatican teaching. 
In this area, there has been no change from the Sin era.  The 
Church continues to oppose abortion, which is illegal in the 
Philippines, and divorce, which is not available as a legal 
option.  In regard to family planning, the Church supports 
what it calls "natural family planning," (such as the 
"standard days" method) and breast feeding.  The Church 
continues to urge the government not to make family planning 
a high priority and it opposes any use of taxpayer money to 
fund family planning efforts.  Along these lines, the Church 
has strongly opposed a Department of Health program launched 
in early 2005 called "Ligtas Buntis," which involved 
distribution of information on family planning nationally. 
The program also provides contraceptives to those who want 
them.  The Church has also strongly opposed a bill (H.B. 
3773) submitted in the House that advocates adoption of a 
comprehensive policy on population management.  The bill 
seeks to provide government funds for mobile family planning 
services that would provide contraceptives upon request.  The 
Committee on Women gave the bill a favorable recommendation 
in early 2005.  The House has not acted on the bill and it 
seems that it will not, at least in the near term, due to 
strong Church opposition and the current focus on impeachment 
charges (ref a).  President Arroyo, who has been lobbied by 
the Church, has not endorsed the bill. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
9.  (C) To some extent, the determination of the Church to 
take a less activist role is a return to the situation that 
existed before Cardinal Sin came on the scene and became 
involved in political issues in the 1970s-90s.  Before that 
timeframe, and throughout the post-war era, the Church had 
not taken an activist posture on political issues.  Although 
the Church is refining its role, it remains a very important 
player on the political scene, albeit in an indirect manner. 
As was made clear at the time of the CBCP statement, 
Filipinos look to the Church for guidance -- and the fact 
that the CBCP did not call for Arroyo's resignation pretty 
much doomed the Opposition's efforts to undermine her at that 
time.  In the near- to mid-term, it is clear that the Church 
plans to remain engaged and that it will become more active 
if it feels some sort of national crisis warrants its 
involvement.  It will remain under countervailing pressure, 
however, from the Vatican and from elements inside the Church 
itself to maintain a focus on spiritual and doctrinal 
matters, and not entwine itself too much in political issues. 
 
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