An urgent call for an interfaith national prayer rally for unity and democracy

THE 1987 Constitution, like other previous constitutions, opens with an invitation and plea to the Almighty God. It states in its preamble: “We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to build a just and humane society, and establish a Government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity, the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution.”

Thus, a call for divine providence and guidance is one of the most constitutional actions that a Philippine government could do.

Recently, amid the political turmoil and raging brouhaha on the issue of Charter change, the people’s initiative, the West Philippine Sea, the International

Criminal Court, and other equally heart-pounding headlines, a group called the Covenant of the Nation called for a national time of united prayer to be led by no less than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself.

In their press release, the group also said that an important element of the gathering is the desired presence of former president Rodrigo Duterte, who has been at loggerheads with the administration on the issue of Charter change. This led him to warn President Marcos of a possible secession of Mindanao from the republic.

Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, former president Duterte’s closest confidant, actually confirmed the former chief executive’s openness to the suggestion of joining the national interfaith prayer rally.

The Covenant for the Nation enumerated three main objectives for the national prayer rally: prayer, unity and democracy. First, under prayer, the group aims to implore the aid and mercy of the Almighty God and renew our covenant with God as a nation. Under unity, the group aims to push for united efforts for change by supporting the Constitution and discerning the kind of genuine change needed, thereby building bridges to foster genuine dialogue between leaders and people. Lastly, under democracy, the group believes that a constitutional convention should be pursued and called should there be a need to change the Constitution.

According to the organizers, the actual date and time for this important gathering will depend on the confirmation and availability of the camps concerned. However, the Covenant for the

Nation will still push through with the event regardless of President Marcos’ final decision since the event is, first and foremost, an interfaith prayer gathering for all Filipinos.

Naysayers and detractors might think that this event is simply a political stunt disguised as a prayer rally. However, that opinion does not remove the wisdom of the proposition of coming together to pray and implore the aid and mercy of the Almighty God as led by our President and the towering figures of our national consciousness, both from the governmental and religious sectors. In these instances, prayer is not seen as a political gesture but a sincere, genuine and united call and a plea to the Almighty God to heal all political, social and economic pains and divisions in our nation.

This is also not the first time that we will witness this kind of event,