Cardinal’s challenge affirms mission of Ang Kapatiran
This refers to the article “Cardinal Tagle to faithful: Join politics to clean it” (Front page, 4/17/14). Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle “urged the faithful to enter the very institutions most prone to corruption, abuse, cheating,” and to “align their affairs” with the “way of God.”
This call from the Cardinal Tagle is an affirmation of the mission of Ang Kapatiran Party (AKP) to bring back God into the center of Philippine politics. Consider the first two among the 10 missions of the party:
1. To put God and His teaching at the center of politics.
2. To bring an end to dirty or traditional politics (trapo)—the politics of pork barrel, family political dynasties, bribery and corruption, the politics of personality or celebrity politics, politics of deceit and manipulation, dishonesty, patronage, payoff, unprincipled compromises, big-money politics, guns and goons, unliquidated cash advances, electoral chicanery and other political shenanigans.
In the past, AKP participated in the national elections but failed to get its candidates elected into office. Why? Firstly, many of the Catholics in the country are still not aware of the existence of the party and its platform of government. Many even think that AKP is a party-list group. This may be attributed perhaps to the lack of logistics of the party to popularize itself and its political agenda through media advertisements and campaign materials. Secondly, some of the Catholics still do not vote for candidates who are not winnable although they have the character and the competence to help in governing the country. Thirdly, some of the bishops and the clergy do not publicly support the party.
Nandy Pacheco, the founder of the party, said that good and upright Catholics who wish to enter local and national politics are invited to join AKP and help in the moral cleansing of the government. Those who are interested may contact AKP president Norman Cabrera at https://www.kapatiranparty.org.
I personally wish to strengthen AKP by increasing the number of its members and supporters throughout the country. Let me then echo the call of Cardinal Tagle to all good Catholics who have the character, competence and the Gospel values to join politics by becoming members of Ang Kapatiran Party.
—REGINALD B. TAMAYO,
vice president, Northern Luzon,
Ang Kapatiran Party,
