SCUTTLEBUTT

Nosy Tarsee overheard during the Trillion Peso March Church leaders who may have crossed the line after indicating that the extra-constitutional Edsa People Power revolution was a work in progress and Filipinos must continue the unfinished work.

Speaking at the Trillion Peso March at the Edsa People Power Monument, Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, outgoing president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said the battle for transparency and accountability must continue.

“It is a work in progress. That is why we are here — to complete the Edsa revolution, a peaceful revolution,” David said in Filipino. “We know change does not happen overnight.”

The revolt was indeed peaceful as it paved the way for the assumption of Cory Aquino as President with few shots fired, but the process was considered a coup d’etat by many and, thus, outside the constitutional process.

David said the country’s democratic system, though imperfect, was better than none, while supporting the 1986 change in power beyond the suffrage system.

David said Sunday’s Metro Manila rally was part of a broader effort to uphold the enduring spirit of Edsa and resist attempts to weaken the democratic gains.

Yet, the bishop said the Church, which he represents, is against quick fixes. “We do not need to burn down the whole house because we want to catch and hold accountable the cockroaches and rats of our society,” he said.

The Church leaders at the highly political event were a thing to behold.