[Corruption in the Philippines] A Theological Understanding of Power for Poverty Alleviation in the Philippines #2/82

58percent of the total Filipino population are Roman Catholic, 10.8percent are Protestant and 5.57percent are Islamic.7In the context of the Philippines, compared to the Catholic Church, the Protestant Church tends to be considered a minority. According to Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC), despite the unprecedented growth in number of Filipino Evangelical churches for the last 30years (from 4,900in 1975up to 77,000as of 2011), they seem limited in engaging social issues like the oppressive power structure, corruption, and injustice. It proved true that the Philippines had been perceived to be the most corrupt in the Asia-Pacific Region.8Dr. Cesar Vicente P. Punzalan, Deputy National Director of PCEC, stated:

We do not fully understand nor attempted to recognize and deal with structural evil: the lack of national righteousness, the lack of social peace, the lack of public justice, and the lack of economic sufficiency as the whole body of Christ . . . . 86% of our churches do not have enough resources, organizational sustainability, or community impact; 13% are healthy having the capacity to engage in impact-driven ministry; 1% have more capacity for impact to transform the nation and engage in international missions.9

Overall, this analysis represents that Evangelical churches have little or no influence as salt and light in society. In fact, the churches are called to transform lives in the Philippines, but many of them have been the objects that need to be transformed. In the words of Walter Brueggemann, these churches appear to be assaulted and co-opted by “the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture” around them,10which robs them of “the courage or power to think an alternative thought.”11

Furthermore, I recognized the necessity of understanding power theologically especially in the context of the Philippines. The spiritual dimension of power should be developed to explain why social systems become oppressive, exploitative, and self-serving even though good people try to make social institutions do what they are supposed to do. The Philippines is known as one of the most religious ones and the third largest Catholic country in the world. Many everyday Filipinos I met were able to interpret and articulate their situations theologically by using sacred words such as “If God willing,” “God will take care of us,” or “This is my destiny from God.” I also found out that religious leaders and the Church (mainly Catholic Church), along with political leaders, tend to be regarded as one of the powerful groups with some negative connotations. Some people even depicted religious leaders as gluttonous, greedy, and privileged ones. Moreover, as religion in the Philippines has roots in colonial history arising out of the colonization by Spain (Catholicism) and the United States (Protestantism), it needs to be more deeply investigated through the history of the Philippines.

Statement of the Problem

My hypothesis is that everyday people in the Philippines communicate a sense of powerlessness. Filipino Protestant Churches should be able to provide a consciousness and perception alternative to the sense of powerlessness and function as an alternative community that brings about transformation. To achieve this goal, I suggest that Filipino Protestant churches, while continuing to empower themselves and find their own assets and resources in the Philippines, need to cooperate with US-based Protestant Filipinos who were born and lived in the Philippines, and then migrated to the United States because they know the reality of the Philippines objectively, criticize the dominant consciousness and perception on power in the Philippines, and energize them by some alternative perspectives and tangible supports. For this reason, this study sought to figure out how US-based Protestant Filipinos could be agents of transformation in the Philippines. Furthermore, the missional agency of US-based Protestant Filipinos has been seldom investigated in the academia of Diaspora Missiology, especially regarding how they perceive power structures and a sense of powerlessness in the Philippines, how they exercise power in their everyday life, and how they can contribute to the transformation of the Philippines in tangible ways.

Research Questions

This study sought to answer the following research questions:

Research Question 1

How do US-based Filipino Protestants in Texas perceive, and understand power structures in the Philippines? What do they think gives power?

Research Question 2

What Filipino cultural values or worldviews do US-based Filipino Protestants in Texas view as causing and perpetuating a sense of powerlessness in the Philippines?

Research Question 3

How do US-based Filipino Protestants in Texas perceive, negotiate, and exercise power? How do they respond to their missional calling to transform the lives in the Philippines?

Research Question 4

What theological meanings do US-based Filipino Protestants in Texas give to power?