Let’s call people power People Power

‘The call of the hour is for Gloria to resign. If she doesn’t, then she should be forced out.’

People Power is already hallowed by practice. It means going to the streets in the millions to call for the removal of a corrupt and abusive government. We see nothing wrong with the basic model, although changing conditions may require different tactics. For example, Edsa 1 had a highly visible role for the military while Edsa 2 had not. Despite the bluster of AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, we have no doubt that the current military will, at crunch time, take the side of the people.

We recognize, of course, that there is no longer a Cardinal Jaime Sin. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has reverted to impotent collegiality. As evil stalks the land, the bishops are consumed with consultations. The result? Obfuscations like "communal action."

All the bishops presumably have charity in their hearts in dealing with sinners. Well, we are not that virtuous. So we will say it: Some bishops have been bought by Gloria and even at this hour of decision are mouthing platitudes about the separation of the Church and the State, clearly with the intention of saving their patroness from the justified wrath of the people.

The Church leaders, as much as their flock, face a moral choice: to tolerate evil or to exorcise it.

Perhaps we would not have come to this pass had the bishops drawn the line at the earliest manifestations of evil. The Bolante caper, the "Hello Garci" tapes, the prostitution of the impeachment process, the attacks on basic liberties, the assaults on co-equal branches of government – the list had already been long before the national broadband network frustrated robbery.

We are thankful most of the bishops appeared to have regained their moral bearing. The call of the hour is for Gloria to resign. If she doesn’t, then she should be forced out.

That’s People Power. Let’s not muddy the waters with euphemisms like "communal action."