39th General Assembly & Annual Meeting
Bishops-Businessmen’s Conference FOR Human DEVELOPMENT
July 13, 2015
Pope Pius XII Catholic Center, Paco, Manila
Keynote Speech
His Eminence Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle, D.D.
Archbishop of Manila
Salamat Vicky, talagang maaasahan ka ha. Magandang hapon po sa inyong lahat. I would like to
thank the National Committee of BBC for inviting me to share with you this session.
Tama po ang sinabi ni Bishop Broderick, hindi ito ang unang pagkakataon na ang Inclusive
Growth ang naging tutok ng BBC. Parang naka ilang sessions na rin ho eh, dito at sa maliliit na
committees. Ibig sabihin niyan, habang pinag-uusapan, ibig sabihin ay talagang kailangan pa, at
mahalaga po talagang tukuyin ito. Di ko nga lang alama papa’no ito isasa-Pilipino eh, “Inclusive
Growth.” “Paglagong sama-sama.” “Paglagong salu-salo.” At walang ‘iisang-tabi, walang
nakakaligtaan. Walang naiiwan. Walang iwanan. Kung lalago rin lang naman, walang iwanan.
Sama-sama tayo.
And I think my role is to provide some perspective from the Catholic Social Teachings, and also
the recent concerns of the Catholic Church as raised in the different fora, also organized on the
international level. And later on, more practical, siguro the “how” questions would be
addressed.
“Inclusive Growth.” By the way, I see people here who have listened to me in other fora on
Inclusive Growth. Pasensiya na kayo, ho, kasi may mga mauulit. Puwede naman kayong
matulog, yung mga nasa Management Association of the Philippines, sa Makati Business Club,
sa Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Prfoessionals (BCBP), ok lang po yon. Walang
iwanan. Kung matutulog, matulog tayong lahat . Inclusive sleep ano? Ayan.
Pero ito nga ho Inclusive Growth, it presupposes there is growth, and there is possibility for
growth. But what type of growth? A growth that seems to exclude others. When we are
aiming at inclusive growth, we are also implicitly admitting that some are not included in that
growth. Or to use a more painful word, a growth that “excludes.” Maybe not intentionally, but
de facto, there is growth registered statistically, but how come others are excluded from that
type of growth? And who are excluded, as we will see later on, the poor — what Pope Francis
lately calls the outcasts. Or what society does not want to label, but again de facto, considers
left-overs. Mga mumu, mga tira-tira. Napakalungkot naman. And when that happens, you
wonder, is that real growth? Can you really talk about it as growth?
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And our theme this afternoon focuses on two important dimensions of that inclusive growth.
Social Justice. And let us hear from St. John Paul II about Social Justice and Growth. He reduces
that into very concrete terms, in his encyclical “Sollicitudo Rei Socialis”, written in 1987.
He says, “looking at all the various sectors, the production and distribution of food stuffs,
hygiene, health, and housing, availability of drinking water, working conditions especially for
the women, life expectancy, and other economic and social indicators, the general picture is a
disappointing one, both considered in itself and in relation to the corresponding data of the
more developed countries.” Then he says the word “gap” returns spontaneously to mind.
Gap. At kung social justice, sabi niya, ‘huwag ‘yung konsepto. Ito eh, tingnan natin. Pagkain,
hygiene, health, housing, drinking water. Kaya minsan kinikilabutan ako ho, ‘nung ako’y bata
pang pari, alam kong mukha pa rin akong bata, pero mas mukha akong bata noon, ano ho? ‘Yun
bang minsan, kita mo ‘o may proyekto, papaano hihigupin ang tubig mula Batangas paakyat sa
Cavite, pero para sa golf course, hindi para pang-inom. Parang nakakakilabot, bakit walang
creativity kapag pang-inom sa tao, pero may creativity para mapa-inom ang golf courses.
Sabi ni Pope John Paul II, “gap,” the gap. But then Pope Paul VI, Blessed Paul VI, in Populorum
Progresio, 1967, points to another aspect of inclusive growth, and it is full and authentic
human development. Not measured only by providing the basic necessities. They are to be
presupposed. But he says, “if further development calls for the work of more and more
technicians, even more necessary is the deep thought and reflection of wise people in search
of a new humanism, which will enable modern people to find themselves anew, by embracing
the higher values of love, friendship, prayer, contemplation. This is what will permit the
fullness of authentic development, a development which is for each and all the transition
from bad human condition to those that are more humane.”
Wow. So hindi lang yung may pagkain, may tubig, may hygiene, kundi, nakakapag-isip ba kayo?
Umaandar ba ang utak? Kamusta ba ang takbo ng utak? Malalim ba ang pag-iisip at
pagmumuni? Meron bang oras para pahalagahan ang sikat ng araw? Eh pero pag nasa slum
area ka, na nasa gitna ng dalawang mataas na building, hindi mo nakikita ang araw, hindi mo
nakikita ang buwan, ‘di mo nakikita ang bituin. Pag binasa mo ang Biblia at sasabihin, “damhin
mo ang Panginoon sa dampi ng hangin,” naku po, anong “dampi ng hangin”? Paghinga mo, para
kang hihikain. Can you enjoy nature that’s part of inclusive growth?
Introduction po ‘yon, mula sa dalawang, puwede na akong tumigil dun ano ho, kung tutuusin
eh. Parehong Papa, isang Santo na, isang Blessed. One wrote in 1967, another wrote 20 years
later, 1987. And almost 30 years later, we are still talking about it. Sabi nga nila I was elected
President of Caritas Internacionalis, and I hope, in the next meeting in November, I will be able
to brag humbly. Puwede ba ‘yon, brag humbly, to this international body, of the efforts here in
the Philippines of BBC towards inclusive growth. Kaya sana marami pang ma-ano dito sa BBC,
para meron tayong mai-aambag dito sa international scenario.
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Without denying the relative autonomy of the temporal order of the world of business etc.,
which Vatican II respects, the Church still offers from a wealth of pastoral experience and
teaching, wisdom of its pastoral social doctrine, a few trajectories.
And let me offer three simple… I simplified what I see the Social Teachings of the Church,
especially up to Pope Francis, have been proposing to us. And I have here three elements. If
you want to search together for inclusive growth, sustained growth, with integrity for social
justice and authentic human development, would include integrity in good governance, and
now with Pope Francis, integrity of creation.
Let me propose three points. First, Inclusive Growth requires an ethic-inspired view of reality,
of society, of the economy, and of development. There are many views which should be
respected: there is a philosophical view, there is an economic view, and there is a political view.
The artists have their own way of viewing, the realities and their proposals, their utopia. But
from the social teachings of the Church, we say we also need an ethic-inspired view. And for
Christians, this ethic-inspired view of reality towards inclusive growth would require the reentry, the retrieval of some categories that have been relegated to the sidelines, have been
considered by others as obsolete, some would even consider them as, parang, sabi sa akin nga
nung isa, “ano ho kayo, dinosaur?” Di ba ang dinosaur extinct? Para bagang yung mga ganitong
ideas daw eh ano ba ito, extinct na ba ‘yan? Pang museum ba ‘yan? No, but for us, they are still
of value, lasting value.
For example, the re-entry of providence, the category of providence, and trust. When we look
at creation, when we look at people, do we bring with us only a pragmatic and functional view?
such that my question is, “ano ba ang puwedeng gawin d’yan o ano ba ang puwedeng gamit
n’yan? Or is there a horizon of creation and a provident Creator whom we could trust?” Jesus
said we should not worry about what to eat and what to wear, for that is what the pagans do.
Believers have a sense that while they work with creativity, with industry and with initiative,
they are all so firm believers that there is a Being greater than them who could do more for us.
Why? Because the Creator cares. When we say re-entry of providence, it is the re-entry of
caring. Kapag nawala yung pag-iisip na mayroong Manlilikha na provident sa atin, wala na rin
yung caring, kaya kanya-kanya na tayong kilos at unahan na lang. Providence changes a lot in
our worldview.
Creation, yes, creation is another category which Pope Francis has extensively discussed in
this longest Papal encyclical so far. But believing in the Creator is believing in the dignity of
work. But the first worker is God. God works and continues to work. And with that category, we
realize we have to work. But how do we work? We work without pretending to be owners. We
work as stewards. Ang katiwala masipag, pero hindi nagpapanggap na siya ang may-ari at
magkakamkam.
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The category of giving and sharing, real giving and sharing, giving for the good of others,
because I see a neighbor. But giving requires self-denial, like tithing et cetera. Sabi ni Bishop
Pabillo, malapit na ang eleksyon, marami na namang giving.
But let us not be fooled, not every giving is altruistic. Not all giving takes the good of the other
seriously. Sometimes giving can be egoistic, even violative of the dignity of the receiver. When I
give in order to get their votes, or to make them feel that they are beholden to me, that is not
true giving. That is an enslavement of others.
The category of brother-sister. During the feudal ages came Francis of Assisi. And one
contribution of St. Francis was to remind people of one word. In the world of lords and vassals,
he reintroduced the word “frater.” Brother. Sister. Brother-sun, sister-moon, mother-earth,
sister-earth. The category of brotherhood-sisterhood.
And finally, the category of the common good: the social environment, the conditions that we
should all work towards, so that every person could grow fully. Sometimes in our haste to
promote MY personal good, I forget that every person grows within a social environment, and
we contribute to that social environment, everyone benefits including myself.
These are just a few categories that I think should enter if we are serious about inclusive
growth. Alam n’yo po madaling i-enumerate ito ho, pero kapag ipapasok na sa isip, lifestyle,
policies, medyo ano ho…
A few weeks ago, I was asked to give a talk on spirituality in the work place, by a group of
Philippine franchise something. Ano ba ho yun, member ba sila ng BBC? Hindi ho? Sabihin ko sa
kanila hindi na nila ako mai-imbitahan ulit pag hindi sila nag-member.
Pero nakakatuwa. When I mentioned itong Providence, one very young businessperson, sabi
niya, you know parang pumasok sa akin, the value of rest. Sabi niya kaming executives, pati
yung aming mga workers, parang hindi na marunong magpahinga. Kung hindi nagpapahinga,
wala nang pananampalataya sa Creator and providence. Kailangang ako ‘pag nawala ako,
babagsak ang mundo. Hindi ho. Magbakasyon kayo, gaganda ang negosyo n’yo. kaya minsan
hindi maganda ang takbo eh ayaw kang magpahinga eh. Hayaan mo muna ang Diyos ang
kumilos. Pag tinatanong ako, “Bishop, ang dami mo naman trips sa abroad. Papaano yung
Diocese mo?” “Kaya nga buhay ang Diocese eh, dahil lagi akong wala eh. Baka pag nandoon ako
lalong masisira ang takbo eh.”
Young bishops I’m not telling you to be like that ha? Pero you need to rest, recover yourself. It’s
not only you taking a vacation, give them a vacation from you. Pag-pahingahin mo naman sila
sa kakikita sa iyo, nang pumasok naman minsan ang Espiritu Santo.
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Number two, sabi nga, Inclusive Growth to include whom? And Pope Francis, in Evangelii
Gaudium, dramatically paints to us the picture of the excluded, and Pope Francis invites
economists, businesspeople to discuss his ideas, he’s not afraid of debate. Even with the
encyclical on creation and the environment, sabi niya, “I am inviting scientists, technology
people, to debate on my points.”
Let me read to you at length a portion of Evangelii Gaudium regarding what Pope Francis calls,
an “economy of exclusion.” We are talking about inclusive growth, but he says, “the type of
economy that we see in the world is an economy that excludes.”
I beg your indulgence, I will read the paragraph. He says, “Just as the commandment “Thou
shall not kill’ sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also
have to say ‘thou shall not’ to an economy of exclusion and inequality.” Such an economy
kills. An economy that excludes really kills. How can it be that it is not a news item when an
elderly, homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two
points?
This is a case of exclusion. Can we continue to stand by, when food is thrown away while
people are striving? This is a case of inequality. Today, everything comes under the laws of
competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a
consequence, masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized, without work,
without possibilities, without any means of escape. Human beings are themselves considered
consumer goods to be used, and then discarded. We have created a throwaway culture, which
is now spreading. It is no longer simply about exploitation and oppression, but something new.”
So for the Pope, we have graduated from exploitation and oppression. Sabi nya, something new
is happening. Exclusion ultimately has to do with what it means to be a part of society in
which we live. These excluded are no longer society’s underside or its fringes, or it’s disenfranchised. They are no longer even a part of it. Sabi nya, hindi na ito exploitation and
oppression, because when you are excluded, you are not part of society. At least those who
exploited and oppressed are still within society.
Sabi nya, they are excluded, and the excluded are not exploited, but the outcasts, the leftovers.
And he calls it the “economy of exclusion.” And for Pope Francis, inclusive growth does not
come only from sociological and political visions, but for Christians it is theological, for God
hears the cry of the poor. And he quotes Deutoronomy 15, chapter 15, where it is said, “The
poor person might cry to the Lord against you, and you would incur guilt.” Society might not
hear the cry of the poor, but God hears, and when God hears, you will incur guilt.
So, for all of us in the Church and in the business world, now we have our Vision Statements.
Every school has a vision, every Diocese has a vision, and every business establishment has a
vision.
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My questions are the following: Are the poor included or mentioned in our vision statement?
Are the poor included in our mission statements? Are the poor included in our planning,
strategizing, in our goals? Are the poor deliberately included in determining our policies? Are
the poor considered in determining what we will produce and what we will sell? Are the poor
included and asked regarding the models of development that we propose or, baka yung mga
programs natin for development ay katulad nung sinasabi ni Pope Francis na ideological
colonization. Baka yung models of development ay hindi akma para sa kanila o gusto nila? Are
our training programs, even in our offices, geared towards service of the poor? Are the poor
central in our management and skills development? Are our labor practices uplifting the poor
among us?
If we want to bring inclusive growth, meaning, including the excluded poor, siguro baka ito yung
mga puwedeng itanong. Baka mamaya, kung dala nyo yung mga vsion statements you might
want to share, and let us see how many Vision Statements have even the word “poor.”
Bago ako pumunta dun sa last point ko ho, bago kayo tuluyang matulog… Last year I attended
the World Economic Forum, and I was in a workshop on authenticity and integrity. I was the last
speaker. But it just blew my mind the way… sabi ko nasa World Economic Forum pala ako ha,
kung sinu-sino yung nasasalubong mo sa corridor, yung UN Secretary-General, yung IMF
nakaka-bangga-bangga mo, nakikita ko lang ‘to sa TV.
That workshop on authenticity, there was a chef who talked about authenticity, integrity in the
culinary world. Sabi niya, may mga restaurants ina-advertise, “authentic” sabihin natin,
authentic Ilocano food. sabi niya, tingnan ninyo kung authentic nga yan. Sabi niya isang area
yan ng authenticity and integrity. There was another speaker, a curator of an art museum, and
he told us, “if your eye is not trained…,” bayad ka, bayad ka tapos yung mga naka-display pala
hindi authentic works of the masters. And then yung isa, she works for a company that
evaluates yung mga products. Eh may isang, siguro secure company, the representative raised
her hand and said, “have you vealuated our product?” Kasi kita mo sa question pa lang, sure
sya. Sabi, yes, we checked yung mga ingredients, yung mga ganyan-ganyan. Sabi, tama naman,
but “you have not revealed to us your labor practices, so we cannot label your products
authentic.” Wow, kasama pala yun sa authenticity. Hindi ka lang bibili nang, o tama naman
pala; tatanungin mo rin, nagbabayad ba kayo ng minimum wage, tama ba, pag hindi, hindi
authentic yan, nakakalason yan. Sa akin naman ang pinatanong na topic is, “how can you
become an authentic person in the midst of virtual reality? How can you be real, when you are
bombarded with the virtual?” Text, emails, ganyan, puro virtual reality, how do you become a
real person? Saka na natin pag-usapan yun, mahirap yun.
Now the third and final point po sa Inclusive Growth. Here I’m very happy that Pope Francis
mentions this. I mentioned this earlier, in some of my earlier talks, and I’m very happy that he
emphasized this also. If we want to move towards inclusive growth, fiscal policies, theories are
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helpful, but maybe not sufficient. For us to be committed, personal encounter with the
excluded will probably convince us, all the sectors, to really work towards inclusive growth.
To bring the excluded into our consciousness, into our hearts, and within the ambit of our
experience and world. When we’re talking about the excluded people, they are not numbers,
they are not categories, they are persons with feelings, with dreams, with families, with hurts,
with the capacity to dream but also with the capacity to be wounded.
Pope Francis, in Laudato Si, the latest encyclical on the environment, and he connects the
degradation of the environment to the lack of inclusive growth, and authentic human
development. He appeals to groups like ours. Sabi nya, “it needs to be said that generally
speaking, there is little in the way of clear awareness of problems which specially affect the
excluded.” Parang hindi raw natin talaga na alam yung problema nung mga excluded. “Yet they
are the majority of the planet’s population, billions of people. These days they are mentioned in
international economic and political discussions, but one often has the impression that their
problems are brought up as an afterthought, a question which gets added almost out of duty or
in a tangential way, if not treated merely as collateral damage. Indeed, when all is said and
done, they frequently remain at the bottom of the pile. This is due partly to the fact that many
professionals, opinion makers, communications media, and centers of power, being located in
affluent, urban areas, are far removed from the poor, with little contact with their problems.
They live and reason from the comfortable position of a high level of development and a quality
of life well beyond the reach of the majority of the world’s population. This lack of physical
contact and encounter encouraged at times by the disintegration of our cities, can lead to a
numbing of conscience, and to a tendentious analysis which neglects parts of reality. At times,
this attitude exists side by side with a green rhetoric.
Today, however, we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social
approach. It must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, as to hear both
the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.” Personal contact, so that we know what exclusion
means. The Pope has been pushing that, person to person encounter. Not just categories, not
just statistical data, but person to person.
So, one basic appeal from the Social Teachings of the Church is, when we’re talking about the
excluded, they are persons. Have you touched their hands? Have you shared the
embarrassment that they have of not being able to offer you food?
Let me close po ‘no ho? When we, for a number of years were asked to live with informal
settlers, the first family that hosted me was embarrassed to let me sleep on the ground. Lupa
eh, lupa. Eh kami naman, no, no problem. The father of the house borrowed chairs from the
other houses. Pinagtali-tali yung mga silya para maging bed, kama ko. Sabi ko ‘di na po, pero
they were insisting. Eh yun pa namang mga silya nahiram nila iba-iba ang height, ano ho? Kaya,
what they had to go through ano ho, but the hospitality…Talagang, entering their world…And
then the following morning, eto na, nakita ko doon sa what they call their mesa, dining table,
isang platito with one fried egg. Sabi ko naku para sa akin yan sigurado. At yung apat na anak na
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maliliit, nakatingin lahat doon sa itlog, probably wondering, ano nga ba ang lasa nyan? Sabi ko
doon sa mother, hindi ho ako sanay mag-almusal, hindi ho ako sanay mag-almusal. At makita
mo yung mga mata nung mga bata parang… Buti na lang hindi siya marunong mag-almusal,
para sa amin sigurado yan. Siguro she knows it’s a ritual; sabi niya, baka naman nahihiya lang
kayo. Sabi ko, hindi ho, tama na ho sa akin ang kape at kung ano ang nandyan. Sabi nya, talago
ho? Sa mga bata, o sige, inyo na ito. Pero yun ano? Apat na bata, isang itlog. Then I asked the
mother, kung wala po itong itlog ano ho ang kakainin nila? Sabi nya, pag gabi, kinakain namin
yung katawan ng tuyo, and we save the heads, yun ang pang-almusal. Pag pumasok sa eskwela,
no wonder na excluded din, nahuhuli, kasi nutrition-wise… The exclusion really creeps. Mula ho
nun, kapag nakakarinig ako na halimbawa magse-serve ng itlog, “ay naku ano yan, ilang calories
yan…dapat puti lang….dapat ano…” Napaka-cute ng ating problem. But you learn that when you
enter what they call house, spend years there, touch their hands, and realize that even tongues
could be deserts. Ano ba ang lasa nyan?
Hanggang dito na lamang po. I tried to reduce some of the teachings of the Church into these
simple…the re-entry of some categories, some questions. Are the poor present, even in
statements, and third, touch them, be with them, learn from them. Then we will know what
exclusion means and hopefully a fire towards inclusion will be lit.
Thank you very much po sa inyong pasensiya. By the way po, I have to ask your pardon. How I
wish I could stay for the whole…but I have two other meetings ’no po, so pasensiya na ho kayo.
Siguro may mga iba pang pagkakataon that I could participate more fully.
Salamat po.
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