Separation of Church and State: A Mere Abstract

One of the state principles declared in our Constitution is the separation of the Church and the State. In addition, the right to suffrage and right to liberty were also provided. Using these rights together, it will be implied that each voter should select the candidate for an elective position that they think would serve him best. Are these rights really practiced?

I can say that it is the negative.

The Catholic Church has the greatest population here in our country. Each diocese has a bishop and as a group, these bishops are known as the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

In the past years, during elections, our parish priest did not endorse any candidate. In his sermons during the mass, he usually say that politics in our era is very dirty. He often reminds us that every power comes with evil. He always tell us to pick the lesser evil whom we think that would best lead the community. But this is not the same in all places. In some places, there are priests that actually run for a public office. Fr. Ed Panlilio of Pampanga is an example.

On the other hand, we also have our Kapatid. These Kapatid were members of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC). Unlike in our church that the priest only tries to influence the parishioners, the INC members were given a list of whom they should vote for. This list includes every position, from highest to lowest, to be elected during that time. This list was never confidential in our locality. Even the candidates knew if they were selected by the church or not.

Often times, either or both of my parents serve for the election. On that day, they usually leave the house around 3 AM to get the election materials from the COMELEC so that they will be able to set the classroom before the election officially starts. Since they were not provided with meals, I usually pack lunch and/or dinner and bring it to the polling precinct. In one instance, when I brought their packed meal, I was able to see a poll watcher from INC tallying the number of block voters based from their list. Since she is not a stranger to me, I approached her out of curiosity. She mentioned that she needed to report the actual number of those members who voted and those who followed the list provided to them to their Ministro (Minister). I asked her what will the consequence be but she refused to answer.

From the examples I have cited above, I can say that though it is declared in the Constitution that separation of the Church and the State should be practiced, this is not what is happening in reality. The decision on which to follow is in us, is our faith or our liberty?