THE OUSTER of Jose de Venecia as House Speaker last month signaled not just the downfall of the ruling Lakas-NUCD but also the relegation to the dustbin of its supposed soul – Christian Democracy. It signaled the end of discussions on the ideology that the late Raul Manglapus, statesman and diplomat, introduced into Philippine politics. Lakas-NUCD is Christian Democracy’s last hope of gaining adherents. With the party now in the brink of demise, its ideology is in danger of getting extinct.

Manglapus organized the NUCD or the National Union of Christian Democrats in 1986 soon after he returned to the country from exile, replacing the Christian Social Movement (CSM) that he and Manuel Manahan set up in 1968 as an alternative to the growing ranks of the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist national democratic movement. NUCD evolved into a minor political party, but as soon as it gained accreditation from the Commission on Elections (Comelec), most of its members left after Manglapus, then the foreign affairs secretary, flip-flopped on the stand against the US military bases.

It was Fidel V. Ramos’ dream for the presidency that gave a new lease on life to NUCD. After failing in his bid to clench the party nomination of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) in 1991, Ramos organized the Lakas ng Tao party. However, the infant Lakas ng Tao was not accredited by the Comelec and it would not be afforded poll privileges enjoyed by registered political parties, like getting a copy of the election returns. So, Ramos negotiated a merger with Manglapus, forming the Lakas-NUCD.

The ranks of Lakas-NUCD swelled after Cory Aquino backed Ramos instead of then House Speaker Ramon Mitra for the presidency. Soon after Ramos won the race in 1992, Lakas-NUCD’s membership expanded all the more, and Christian Democracy became a chief political thought. Discussions on Christian Democracy were brought to fore when De Venecia attempted to banner it, eventually establishing the Christian Democracy Institute as a way of promoting the ideology.

Christian Democracy is a political movement that was born at the end of the 19th century, largely as a result of the papal encyclical Rerum Novarum of Pope Leo XIII, in which the Vatican recognized workers’ misery and agreed that something should be done about it, in reaction to the rise of the communism and trade union movements. The position of the Roman Catholic Church on this matter was further clarified in a subsequent encyclical, Quadragesimo Anno, by Pope Pius XI in 1931. Christian Democracy has evolved considerably since then, and it is no longer a particularly Catholic ideology.

Wikipedia says Christian Democracy, as a political ideology, focuses on the health of the community in all areas of community existence, oftentimes called communitarianism. This community orientation is often considered conservative (or right-leaning) in regard to moral and cultural issues; and progressive (or left-leaning) in regard to social justice, labor and socio-economic issues. It claims a strong social conscience, in the sense of great respect for the dignity of the human person from conception to natural death, emphasizing the alleviation of poverty, and maintenance of a basic level of societal protection keeping the weak from abandonment and destitution, and the democratization of market forces for the common good.

But in the Philippines where politics is focused more on personalities rather than programs, ideologies have become more of fashion statements rather than platforms of government. Our politicians can be likened to imitation goods sold in cheap stores bearing the labels of known brands but are actually phonies. One can proclaim himself or herself an ideologue of this and that, but his or her action does not speak of what he or she professes.

That was what happened to Christian Democracy. When it became a dominant party, politicians scrambled for membership cards, claiming they too are Christian Democrats. But claims are just claims. Most do it for political convenience. Others do it to score pogi points. The enterprising ones do it to get funds (Yes, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation of Germany funds projects by Christian Democratic organizations). Christian Democracy got first-class lip service!

Manglapus may have all the good intentions when he gambled NUCD’s ideological line with traditional politicians in the hope of proselytizing them and eventually perpetrate Christian Democracy. He may have also hoped that with NUCD in the mainstream, ideological discussions can transform the country’s political landscape into becoming issue-based (as what he hoped as early as 1957 when he established the Progressive Party of the Philippines (PPP), under which he ran for president but lost to Ferdinand Marcos in 1965, winning only in one province — Iloilo).

Following De Venecia’s ouster, there are now plans for a merger between Lakas-NUCD and Kampi, the mother party of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. (The two parties are in a coalition since 1998 after Arroyo abandoned her presidential bid and agreed to become De Venecia’s vice presidential candidate. He lost to Joseph Estrada, she won. By January 2001, she became President by succession after Estrada’s downfall.) Ramos, the chairman emeritus of Lakas-NUCD, announced that following this planned merger, Lakas-NUCD would be the surviving entity. But that is very doubtful. What is clear but sad is that Christian Democracy, as an ideology, may just collapse into a coma – only to reawaken, perhaps, until after the next miracle.

The rise and fall of Lakas-NUCD simply shows how turncoatism eroded the party system, and that political parties in the Philippines were established not to pursue certain programs and issues, but for the convenience of personalities. The dominant parties that emerged since the restoration of Philippine democracy in 1986 – Lakas ng Bayan (Laban), LDP and Lakas-NUCD – were formed because personalities wanted to position themselves. Laban – the result of the merger of PDP-Laban, Unido and Lakas ng Bansa – backed the senatorial and congressional candidates of Cory Aquino in 1987. From this coalition, LDP was born to propel Mitra’s bid for the presidency; it was not successful.

Then came Lakas-NUCD: The first dominant party that has an ideology to talk about.

But eventually, it ended up just in pure talk – actions were fruitless and programs were wasted. Christian Democracy is going into oblivion.

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