The Dean of the St. Vicent School of Theology in Quezon City, Philippines (http://www.svst.edu.ph), Daniel Franklin Pilario, has been a scholarship holder of the Institute of Missiology. From 1996 to 2002 he has done his doctoral studies at the Catholic University in Leuven. His thesis was on  „Back to the Rough Grounds of Praxis.      Exploring Theological Method with Pierre Bourdieu. Beyond Liberation Theology and Radical Orthodoxie” (Leuven 2002). It was from him that we received the following statement on the national situation of the Philippines:             

WHAT WE BELIEVE IN… 

WE VOW TO FIGHT FOR!

As discerning Christians, struggling to be faithful to the demands of the Gospels   

to read the signs of times today, we proclaim our belief in front of this gathered assembly.   

1. We believe… in our God-given right to human freedom and dignity.   

              We will fight against any attempt to trample upon our human dignity through Presidential proclamations, military might or subtle coercion. True, the state can have the right to protect itself from lawlessness but never at the expense of the human right to one’s life, to one’s dignity, to express one’s opinion freely, to free and peaceful assembly. Proclamation 1017 has been lifted but these rights are still in danger. We feel we are now trained to live in fear under the law – under the watchful eyes of ‘Big Brother’. We vow to fight for and protect our freedom as daughters and sons of God.        

2. We believe… in accountability.   

                In the light of the recent events, we are in danger of losing perspective about the real issue: our leader’s accountability. Did GMA cheat or not? What is the truth of the Garci tapes, of the fertilizer scam, of the      jueteng    scandal? All avenues to know the truth have been effectively blocked. The bishops recently said: “What we have seen are acts of evasion and obstruction to truth.” EO 464, economic dole-outs, media propaganda, ‘Cha-cha’ and, more recently, the alleged conspiracy to rebellion are all diversionary tactics to evade from accountability. A leader who does not want to be accountable does not have the moral authority to lead us. We vow to relentlessly search for truth in all our strength and creativity 

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3. We believe… in a more systemic and structural political change.           

We are also aware that the so-called search for truth has been used to further the ambitions of power-hungry politicians from the left, right or center. We deem it our duty as Christians to discern these ambivalent forces in our midst. But we also believe that beyond mere change of leaders, we also need a more permanent structural change – a credible COMELEC, an independent judiciary, a Congress that does not live on ‘envelopmental’ diplomacy and an electorate who can vote freely and wisely. Unless this happens, we will forever be victims of patronage politics and the consequent poverty of minds and bodies this engenders.                

4. We believe… in the wisdom and power of the grassroots communities.   

                 Beyond the rhetoric of politicians, academicians and media opinion makers, we resolve to listen more to the hopes and fears, joys and tears of people in the grassroots whose daily encounter with oppression and poverty bears a kind of wisdom only they could know. It is they who are the real victims. It is they who should be the real agents of transformation. We pledge ourselves to be at the service of their empowerment and liberation. True to our motto, ours will always be a theology and praxis from and for the margins!   

All these we believe… this we vow to fight for! To the end!             

SVST CONCERNED STUDENTS, ADMINISTRATORS & STAFF