A: 21st Sun of OrdTime (27 Aug 2017) - ROCK, ROCK, ROCK - Mt 16:13-20

In Mt 16:16-18, we find the idea of rock stated 3 times: “rock” once and “Peter” (from the same root word) twice. In the history of the Church, these verses are used to justify the primacy of the Pope being the rightful successor of Peter who was ordained by Jesus himself. Further, the concepts of Papal infallibility as well as the apostolicity of the Catholic Church are further based too on this line. Sadly, this pericope was overused by some ecclesial leaders as a leverage to abuse their authority and lord over others beyond the bounds of the spiritual domains.

However, if we look at the Greek New Testament, the lexeme “petra” does not mean “rock foundation.” In fact, it is used to refer to rock formations only, which can either be massive (Mk 15:26), in pieces (Mt 27:51), or a thin part of the topsoil (Lk 8:6). This means that these verses should not be taken as a direct reference to Peter as the great “corner stone” of the Church, which is associated only in the Bible to Christ alone (cf. 1 Pet 2:7 where “lithos” is used, not “petra”). Henceforth, Christ is still the prime authority-bearer while Peter was just nominated as his Church’s spiritual leader among many other rock pieces, i.e., the apostles.

It is already 14 months since the Duterte administration has held the reigns of governance in the country. During this short period of time, he rocks! Aside from the fact that he is beheld by the public as a rock star due to his street-thug charisma, he also rocks the boat by changing the face of Philippine politics, replacing old traditional politicians with new unblemished (read “inexperienced”) ones. Indeed, the title “rock, rock, rock” can be applied to him. However, his program is practiced really as “kill, kill, kill” because it is spilled all over with his 3 “bato” (Filipino word for “rock”):

1. “Bato” for drugs (street word for illegal drugs). Duterte blames trafficking and usage of shabu as the primary menace of society, effecting heinous forms of violence against the innocent. We do not know wherefrom he got his conclusion nor his bloated figure of drug-users. What we only discover is that he is so determined to eradicate it to the point of forgetting the more essential societal evils. Though we do agree with him that drugs should indeed be eliminated, it should be noted that the drug problem is likewise rooted to a more complex problem, i.e., poverty; drugs stand merely as the latter’s symptom.

2. “Bato” for PNP Chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa. He is known as Duterte’s chief annihilator of public criminals. His “Oplan: Double Barrel” has led to the surrender of thousands of drug-stakeholders but has also brought to the executions of thousands. Last week was the deadliest week ever where within the span of 3 days 32 were killed in Bulacan, 25 in Manila, and only to climax to the fateful but iconic death of the 17-year-old Kian delos Santos. Woefully, as of now no one has ever been held responsible for any of those killings (numbering to around 13,000!)… a big blow to our police investigatory capacity and sincerity to safeguard every human life.

3. “Bato” for fighting back (In Hiligaynon, “bato” means “to fight back” or “nanlaban” for the Tagalogs). The main justification for the high death-toll is that those reprimanded by the police fought back and were thus killed in a shoot-out with the police. With this main alibi, the police force denies the existence of any extra-judicial killing, but it has not yet solved nor cleared neither any of the many hundred cases whose operations remain questionable. At the height of this phenomenon human rights and the right to life have slowly been demeaned and mocked.

The only sensible move to counter “bato” in the child game “bato-bato-pick” (equivalent of “rock-paper-scissors”) is by showing the “papel” (“paper” in English) symbol. Thus, “papel, papel, papel” which is also my proposal to all:

1. “Papel” for involvement. A person who is called “ma-papel” means somebody enters a conversation or a scene even if his/her presence is uncalled for. However, it appears that it is our only viable option since our common plea is unentertained by a seemingly deaf administration. Critical collaboration is the spark that lit EDSA; remaining silent would only give a false impression to the hegemony that its acts are acceptable to all.

2. “Papel” for documentation (its cognate “papeles” is understood as “legal documents”). Recently, the “Oplan: Double Barrel Reloaded” has laid low on its operations after a CCTV caught two police personnel in custody of Kian before his mysterious murder. If more documentations were done and unearthed, the killings would slow down and (hopefully) finally stop. We need more brave souls to tell out loud their real stories.

3. “Papel” for journalism. Our national hero Jose Rizal values the use of the pen as our main weapon to achieve true freedom. Likewise, we should use all peaceful means to educate one another with God values above any other else. Foremost of which is the use of social media which is readily accessible to the majority of the Filipinos anyway.

Peter, though recognizably remains as the visible leader of the 12 apostles in the NT, was not perfect in his own right. He is marred with weaknesses, rash moves, and untamed bravado in his speech. But his transformation to sainthood and true leadership was instigated by the bold confrontations of Jesus, his co-apostles, and even Paul. Mr Duterte can still be the proverbial holder of the key to the gates of Philippine paradise, as all duly-elected leaders are. But he would need first to accept the failures of his moves and decisions. Yet, how can he begin to do so if no peaceful confrontations are coming from us?

Therefore, brace yourself now and intend to open your hands for the “papel” symbol. For the next five years, get ready for a series of “bato-bato-pick.”

- Rex Fortes, CM