I.

Description / Experience

1. 2. 3.

News/Context ASCOT: Aurora State College of Technology ASEZA: Aurora Special Economic Zone Authority by the Angaras APECO: Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Unconstitutionality of APECO: Illegaly legal Nonconsultation (no FPIC/Free, prior and informed consent) Deprivation of livelihood and basic human/economic rights Against agrarian reform, rights of ancestral domain and social justice Issue of national food security Issue of national patrimony Personal Experience Idonna's Interview IC's Interview II. Theological Examination

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

1. 2.

Biblical Examinations of Social Justice Pressure and Moral Suasion What should each stakeholder do in light of the Christian response? APECO, fisherfolk/ farmers/

III. Group Reflection IV. Bibliography

Theological part Fr. Caroll Pressure and Moral Suasion

According to Fr. Caroll in the discussion Social Theory and Social Change , there are two ways in which social theory has viewed society. One is through the coercion model and the consensus model. The coercion model is a way of viewing society with different sectors and different goals. Members of society in the coercion model usually use force in order to attain what they want. The consensus model, on the other hand views different sectors of society in a united manner with the same goals and

aspirations. The driving force in a coercion model is pressure or force while the driving force in a consensus model is persuasion of the society in order to cooperate with certain beliefs. In this discussion, Fr. Caroll reveals the Philippine setting could be described closely with the coercion model. His proposal in order to bring about change in social structures is through pairing moral suasion and pressure. Moral suasion is changing the way people think about social issues in light of Gods will while pressure is in the form of power in numbers. Fr. Caroll proposes that there should be combination of both moral suasion and pressure. Moral suasion is inspring people to have a change in their values and their point of view. With this, he says that each member in society has a role in bringing about social change. Fr. Caroll poses a challenge to the upper class, middle class and lower class alike. In shaking the triangle from below, the poor have the responsibility to make noise with regard to the injustices they experience. According to Fr. Caroll, they have the responsibility to organize themselves and be aware of their rights in order to communicate what changes they want to bring into society. They should not be afraid or ashamed. Concretely in the APECO issue, it was morally right for the fishermen, farmers and indigenous people to walk all the way to Malacanang to speak about their concerns. Without them doing this, the issue may not have been given due attention. The upper class should be careful in how they use their power. They have the greater responsibility in helping the oppressed. In the situation in Casiguran, APECO with a Christian response should expose themselves to the reality in the area wherein they are claiming to bring development. Through the course of the issue they have tried communicating that the project is simply for development of people in the area. The problem is that this kind of development which they are offering through the building of a port, has displaced farmers from their land, fisherfolk from their seas and have caused tension within indigenous groups. The discussion with President Noynoy was considerably unfruitful. The Presidents reply to the people saying that people who marched were closed-minded to development and that the government will look into the situation. In this situation, pressure was clearly trying to be applied by the fisher folk, farmers and indigenous peoples by their numbers in the situation. However, it was clearly not enough. In particular, the numbers were not enough to convince him that the issue was worth more attention. Following Fr. Carolls recommendation, the middle class and the upper class should be more involved in the issue. Concretely, support could be given by civil society groups in rallying the cause. A civil group that has been actively involved is the Church. In particular, the National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace (Nassa) has been involved in
rallying in calling for the repeal of the RA 10083 that declares the vast private and public land in Aurora as privileged territory of the Apeco. (http://www.cbcpnews.com/cbcpnews/?p=8228 , 2012)

SOURCES: http://www.cbcpnews.com/cbcpnews/?p=8228

Social Theory and Social Change in the Philippines. Fr. John J. Caroll, S.J.