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VIRTUALLY confessing the “sins” of the judiciary,
Supreme Court chief Justice Reynato Puno led the
faithful in praying for the judiciary, asking God for
forgiveness “for even allowing injustice to abound in
our society and in our country.”
Known to
be deeply religious, Puno joined a multitude of
believers on a rainy afternoon in Luneta Park Sunday at
the 29th anniversary of Jesus Is Lord (JIL) Worldwide
Ministries founded by evangelist Bro. Eddie Villanueva.
Also joining the anniversary were several Catholic
clergymen led by Novaliches Bishop Antonio Tobias who,
for the first time, joined hands with evangelicals to
declare unity in the quest for national transformation.
In a
straightforward but profound prayer, Puno said God is a
God of justice who demands believers to deliver what is
truthful, righteous and just. He cited several biblical
passages, including the command that said “you shall
take no bribe.”
DESPITE the rains, throngs
of believers filled Luneta Park on Sunday as Jesus Is
Lord Worldwide Ministries celebrated its 29th
anniversary. Chief Justice Reynato Puno (at rostrum) led
in offering prayers for the judiciary. Among those who
joined Sunday’s celebration were Novaliches Bishop
Antonio Tobias, Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn,
Health Undersecretary Jade del Mundo and Sen. Noynoy
Aquino.
--(CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS BY DING SULIT)
“Forgive
us for straying away from what You say are Your standard
of truth, righteousness and justice,” Puno said in the
prayer. He was joined by some justices from the
Sandiganbayan, members of the Judicial and Bar Council
and several lawyers.
The
Chief Justice went on to ask the Divine to “help us to
yearn and seek what you will . . . . Give us a heart
that longs after you and you alone.”
The High
Court had been rocked by controversy lately involving
two justices who traded accusations against each other
over allegedly fraudulent land titles.
But
before that the High Tribunal, under Puno’s initiative,
had taken a more aggressive stance in reckoning with the
spate of extrajudicial killings and enforced
disappearances, conceding that the usual recourse to
habeas corpus petitions had been blunted by mere casual
denials by the authorities that they have custody of
missing persons.
An
offshoot of a landmark national summit sponsored by the
High Court was the drafting of the rules for the writ of
amparo, which takes the human-rights protection of
citizens a step further. The rules take effect on
October 24.
The
court, meanwhile, is also expected to be put to a test
in the wake of the hearings of the multimillion-dollar
national broadband network project bagged by the Chinese
company ZTE.
Meanwhile, Jaro Bishop Angel Lagdameo, president of the
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines,
expressed unity with JIL’s Bro. Eddie Villanueva in
“seeking national transformation and for unity of our
country into a people who are maka-Dios, maka-bayan
and makatao.”
It was
the first time that Lagdameo, head of the most
influential Catholic body, made such a declaration.
While not present due to a prior commitment, Lagdameo
sent a message to Villanueva, read by Bishop Tobias,
before the ecumenical prayer for the church.
“I
envision with the brothers and sisters a national
transformation through the values of unity, justice,
stewardship and servanthood which bring about—‘under the
Lordship of Jesus’—the hoped-for convergence of leaders
and people along the path of peace and prosperity,”
Lagdameo said in his message. |
