[b]Iron lady, Part Five[/b]

It was rare that Priscilla Aglipay-Rizal invited members of the Catholic Church - from which her father's Philippine Independent Church had split off a long time ago - into her home and her study. It was even rarer that she actually listened to them. And it was almost unheard of that she admitted to them being [i]correct[/i] about something she disagreed with. 

Yet it had happened, and Priscilla can only look at the photographs and financial books and written testimony with dismay before saying, "Father Agustin, the Co-operatives in Subic Bay had promised me their loyalty. They told me they can manage the former US base and former US assets as efficiently as possible as they were formerly employed by the Americans. But they never told me - they never told me they'd profit from the labor of [i]children[/i]!" 

Father Agustin, a short and stocky old man with wispy white hair wearing a straw hat and a long black robe, looked at Priscilla with pity. He would then say: "You are like your father, believing that the baby was to be thrown out with the bathwater, that all laws can be replaced with yours'. Yet all leaders have limits; they are not the Most High." 

A purse of his lips. "Nevertheless, you have to accept that the Worker Co-operatives in Subic have made the former US base a den of sin and inequity; the illegitimate Half-Filipino children of former US soldiers slave away alongside Vietnamese and Rohingya in the garment factories, Malays from Sabah handle toxic waste and remove unexploded ordnance alongside Khmer youths. Refugees from the rest of Southeast Asia are forced into prostitution or other forms of grueling work, as they are not Filipino citizens and thus covered by the New Labor Code."

Priscilla's face hardened. "I will begin proceedings against them immediately; send out the Police to stop them and bring them to trial -"

Father Agustin raised his hand. "This is not wartime, and as you said, the oppressed refugees and immigrants are not covered by the law's protection. Nor are they protected by common human decency. Will you violate your own laws when the Most High himself does not? Is that what your new sect has taught you?"

Priscilla thought it over. She couldn't just do [i]nothing[/i], but Father Agustin was right; her laws had allowed for this to happen. The Philippines was a democracy and she preferred it that way; she was even planning to do a Cincinnatus once her second term was up. And she will not compromise this democracy just to cover up her mistakes. So the Lady President relaxed, sitting back on a modest chair.

Her next words were: "How did you collect this evidence? I presume the Catholic Church has deigned to walk among the poor and downtrodden once more?" That last part was an unecessary barb and one Priscilla would have cursed herself for in earlier days. But right now, she was not above pettiness...nor asking for an apology later. "Forgive me; old prejudices assert themselves."

"I wouldn't be a priest if I didn't forgive," Father Agustin was nonplussed. "The Old Faith still maintains a lot of followers even among the corrupt, still ministers to the bodies and souls of those they exploit. Under the banner of missionary work, we keep our ears and eyes open, extending what help we could." A purse of his lips as he prepared an admission. "And [i]your[/i] new sect, under your father's successors, have walked this battlefield as well; all differences fade in the struggle to succor the poor."

A nod from Priscilla. "Gather evidence, then, Father Agustin, and help those who I cannot help. From this moment on, you and yours' are under my protection; my reputation, my place, my [i]power[/i], I am prepared to sacrifice them all if it would help your cause. Those who proclaim yourselves your enemies proclaim themselves [i]mine[/i] as well." 

Already, the Lady President was measuring her assets, going through her mental list of friends and allies to see who would resist the temptation to put their narrow interests above the interests of thier nation. A coalition would need to be built in order to defeat the increasingly over-mighty enemies in Subic, and preparations made to drive a wedge within the unprincipled elements in that place itself. Steps had to be taken in order to ensure that what was happening there was not happening elsewhere as well; more investigation needed to be done.

Father Agustin nodded. "Thank you for your help. If you had not agreed, we would have turned to Japan via the See of Nagasaki, or even the Godless Hou Tsai Tang. I am glad not to have used that weapon." 

The implications were clear; Father Agustin could destroy her credibility with the wider world and her credibility as a member of the Unified Left by exposing the actions of unscrupulous Co-operatives in her country. If he had ideas for other demands in his head, she would be unable to refuse them. As it is, she had to rely on his integrity...the integrity of a [i]Catholic[/i].