By Lolo Bobby M. Reyes of Sorsogon City and West Covina, CA

O nce again it is Holy Week when Christians are supposed to dig deep into their souls and ask their consciences if they are living according to the tenets of Christianity.

If Filipino Christians will live up to the teachings of Jesus Christ, then they must stop the “Uncivil War” that many of them have declared against the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos, his memory, his estate and surviving scions. The Filipino people have to stop blaming the Marcos regime for all the perennial problems that still torment the country such as corruption, poverty, ignorance and social evils like the drug-and-gambling epidemics, prostitution and what not. More-than 25 years have lapsed since the forced end of the Marcos era. Four Presidents have since then reigned and the fifth successor is currently serving his term as the new leader of the Philippine Republic. Surely, Ferdinand Marcos could not be blamed entirely for the mess that we are currently living in or for the sufferings that even Overseas Filipinos have to endure.

But as I wrote in “Why Not All Filipino Catholics Are Christians” during the Holy Week of 2008, “forgiveness implies not only remorse but restitution.” If the Filipino people – at least a majority of the Filipino Christians – were to exercise mercy and begin the process of national healing, the Marcos Family must likewise do its share of showing remorse and restitution.

The Marcoses must honestly accept the facts that there were human-rights violations, especially extra-judicial killings, and financial abuses that happened during the presidency of Mr. Marcos. By humbly admitting the abuses and violations of law that happened during the Marcos presidency – whether unwittingly or by force of circumstances – and showing sorrow and regrets, the process of healing can start hopefully this Easter.

Then there is the matter of restitution, which the Marcos Family can do by sharing with the people – beginning with the individuals and their families that suffered human-right abuses – whatever assets were accumulated during the nearly 21-year reign of Mr. Marcos.

Perhaps Easter 2011 may start the reconciliation between the Marcoses and many Filipinos, especially if all parties that are coming together to end the “Uncivil War” were to remember these passages from the Bible:

Then Peter came up and said to him, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.’ – Matthew 18:21-22

As the cliché goes, "Will wonders (and miracles) ever cease?” That is a question that begs an answer from the Filipino Christians (and non-Christian Filipinos) and the Marcoses.

Easter is a time for healing. It is the time to rejoice with the Risen Redeemer and his Divine Mercy. Perhaps it is also time to end the “Uncivil War” between the Marcoses and their critics, along with the victims that suffered during the Marcos Dispensation or their heirs or successors in interest. # # #