WE’VE all heard the urging of the Holy Spirit to help victims of Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda in the Philippines. We’ve all been moved with compassion and kindness as we saw pictures of this ferocious storm sweeping away houses, cities and villages, and killing thousands of people. We’ve seen faces of orphaned children and hungry people waiting on line to get relief goods. Only a person with a numb heart can ignore the sufferings of this people.
It’s much harder for us, Filipinos, to see the loss and hunger of our people and to learn about allegations of incompetent and disorganized effort to help them. We feel ashamed of the leadership of the country, as the media broadcasted around the world delayed rescues of typhoon victims and poor attention on dead people lying on the streets of Tacloban City and other affected areas.
We ask ourselves, how could this tragedy happen to a struggling country? How could those in leadership not act rapidly to the emergent needs of suffering people? How could elected government officials take advantage of this disaster to advance their own political gain?
Perhaps, it is easy for many of us to judge quickly government officials for their incompetency. We were not there to witness their actions, but the ability of ordinary citizens to use Facebook and YouTube to expose their poor efforts, such as piles of undelivered relief goods makes us wonder if allegations are not true at all. We expect more from those that we trust and elected in leadership. The Gospel tells us, “For everyone whom much is given, from him much will be required, and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask more.” (Luke 12:48)
If there is one good thing that should come out of these rubbles, confusions, and accusations, I hope it is a general conversion of hearts of people across sectors of society. Even many poor people who give in to vote buying for a few thousand pesos need to come to deep conversion.
The whole country has to wake up. It’s time for Filipinos, including those of us in the diaspora to clean up our mess, not just the debris of Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda, but also all our political, moral, and socio-economic dirt.
The crisis in the Philippines is more than a crisis of relief goods but a crisis of efficient and honest leadership.
I absolutely believe that there is no crisis of talents among us, Filipinos. God has endowed us with great intellects and artistic abilities. We have proven this around the globe with the professional and hardworking potentials of many of us.
On this Solemnity of Christ the King, we pray for true and deep conversion among all of us. May God grant us humble hearts to accept our wrongdoings and to change our ways in order to build a just and progressive society that cares for the destitute and the oppressed! Amen.
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Reverend Rodel G. Balagtas attended St. John Seminary in Camarillo, California and earned his Doctor of Ministry in Preaching from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri. For twenty years, he has been in the parish ministry of large multi-cultural communities. Since 2002, he has been the pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Los Angeles. Please email Fr. Rodel at [email protected].