Palaisipang KaWillieWili: Loose cannon

Loose cannon

LAST WEEK, His Excellency Archbishop Paciano “Apung Ceto” Aniceto celebrated his 73rd birthday. Among his well-wishers was of course no less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself, along with most of other elected officials of the province. Governor Panlilio, one you would almost 100% expect to be there, was not.

Apung Ceto reportedly cracked a joke in reaction to Panlilio’s absence: “The governor leaves when I come. And he does not show up when he knows the President will be around.”

Three days later, in another interview, this time on the foiled plan to do away with the 40-year-old tradition of celebrating the First Friday Mass at the Capitol, Apung Ceto reprimanded and expressed his disappointment over Panlilio.

“It cannot be so. It (First Friday Mass) has been institutionalized at the Capitol for a very long time. It is not that easy to take away a revered practice of worship and celebration… removing the first Friday mass there (at the Capitol) is not good. As a priest, he should know better. The church allows Christian celebrations. But not to replace a mass like the First Friday Mass at the Capitol. They could do their worship on another day. They should not remove the masses there but must add and complement it instead to strengthen faith and attain unity.”

How is the scrapping of the First Friday Mass celebrations at the Capitol and replacing it with a regular prayer gathering led by Jesus Is Lord (JIL) pastors connected to the “good governance and moral leadership” crusade of Governor Panlilio? Or has it stopped being about that and it is really now just about religion, about the evangelization of born again Christians among the Catholic faithful?

Yes, okay, so nothing came of this plan that was reportedly spearheaded by Atty. Vivian Dabu, the perceived governor, because the department heads and employees were against it. Yet, as faithful Catholics, this leaves a nasty taste in our mouths.

This is way too much even for Among Ed!!!

Why would Among Ed do that? What compelling reason was there that made him go along with this plan?

Perhaps we won’t think much of it if the Governor is not a Catholic priest and Atty. Dabu is not a “born again” Christian, and if we are unaware of their much-criticized working dynamics, where so many are convinced that essentially, Dabu is the governor and the Governor is but Dabu’s alter ego.

Apung Ceto’s parting shot in his interview is comforting. When asked how he would deal with Panlilio should he decide to return to priesthood after his stint with politics, His Excellency said, “Ah, that would depend on my evaluation and assessment. He may have to deal with the Canon Law on that. Canon, ‘kanyon yang mamakbung yan (It’s a cannon that explodes).”

Well, for someone who has:

1)   Willfully violated the universal Canon Law that prohibits Catholic priests from running for public office;
2)   Plans to violate it again by running for president or senator, as per reliable media reports;
3)   Removed the Blessed Virgin Mary from the Governor’s office (that even the Lapids never dared do);
4)   Plotted to rid the First Friday Masses at the Capitol;