Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Manila (Agenzia Fides) - “It will be the long-awaited and much-anticipated land reform that will serve as the litmus test for the new President Benigno Aquino. It will be a chance for voters to see the real intentions and guidelines of the new leaders." This is what Fides learned in an interview with Fr. Socrates Mesiona, a priest from Manila and Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the country. Fr. Mesiona explains: "The Cojunangco-Aquino Family, that of Benigno, are landowners and one of the most powerful families in the country, with major ramifications in the national economy. Thus, it will be interesting to see how and if the new President intends to carry out agrarian reform, which provides a mechanism for redistributing land to peasants."
In fact, "Hacienda Luisita" - the vast family estate of the Cojunangco-Aquinos, located about 100 km north of Manila - has become, over the years, a symbol of the difficulties of the Philippines in implementing land reform, since the time of the government of President Corazon Aquino (1986-1992), Benigno's mother.
Looking to the future of the nation, Fr. Mesiona tells Fides: "Aquino was elected for his anti-corruption agenda and thanks to memory that the people had of his parents, Benigno, Sr. and Corazon. At this stage in national history, we need a leader who will unite and inspire the country with his personality, by his example, and his moral authority. If the Heads of State, in fact, are involved in scandals and accused of corruption, all citizens are encouraged to carry out corrupt practices. In this struggle, the Church has always been at the forefront and has noted the urgency of a new course, one of transparency and credibility."
Other challenges that the new president will have to face in the social-economic plain, are, according to the missionary, "the great gap between rich and poor; creating an atmosphere for credible economic recovery, with certain rules that encourage investment; strengthening the network of infrastructure like electricity, which in some areas of the South is only provided six hours a day."
On the issue of the South Pacific, Fr. Mesiona says: "The conflict in Mindanao is very complex, full of variables and dense in social, economic, cultural, and religious phenomena that are intertwined with one another. What is certain is that the ordinary people want peace, and must start afresh from here.
Interreligious dialogue can help overcome the social and ethnic fragmentation of Mindanao." (PA) (Agenzia Fides 27/05/2010)
