Is this extortion? Moral implications for victim?

[JJMom123]

My friend and his wife had their wedding in their home country the Philippines. I was a guest. On our way to the rehearsal dinner just a couple days before the big day, our van gets pulled over. The officer tells our driver he has expired license and instead of writing a ticket he asks for money. It was $20. Several members of the party were willing to give the $20 so we could move on. My friend, the groom, a principled Catholic man asked that nobody give the $20. There was some small talking between the officer and the wedding planner. It was in their native language. They apparently grew up in the same town. The officer found favor with the wedding planner and let us go. No money given and just a verbal warning to take care of the license. The locals told my friend if he continued to resist, we could’ve gotten taken in. My friend, the groom thinks he did the right thing as a Catholic, standing my his moral code, even if it meant his possibly being taken in, inconveniencing us all who travelled a ways and the possibility of a delayed wedding. I disagree. He believes it is sinful to cooperate in this bribery. I see this as extortion not bribery. And he is the victim of extortion and God would’ve understood his circumstance. It is common practice among police officers in the Philippines to do this. Graft and corruption are rampant in the Philippines from what I hear. How could there be any moral implications for victims of extortion? There are people who would lose a whole day’s wage - money for themselves and their poor families if they resisted and didn’t give a few pesos. I’d like to hear where in Scripture or cannon law or the Catechism that a victim of extortion is admonished.

 

[Vico]

My friend, the groom, a principled Catholic man asked that nobody give the $20.

Catechism

1868 Sin is a personal act. Moreover, we have a responsibility for the sins committed by others when we cooperate in them:

• by participating directly and voluntarily in them;
• by ordering, advising, praising, or approving them;
• by not disclosing or not hindering them when we have an obligation to do so;
• by protecting evil-doers.

 

[HolySpirit]

Your friend should stay out of third world countries.

You should have paid the bribe against his wishes. I can’t imagine what a prison in the Philippines would be like, but I would never do anything to find out. His actions could have gotten you killed.

For your scrupulous friend, tell him that you were making a contribution to college fund of the Police Officer’s kid. I am sure the cop would have agreed to that stipulation.

 

[JJMom123]

Ok. So if my friend or others gave $20 to the cop it would be a sin and they are culpable by their participating of, approving of, protecting of and not hindering the extortion. He, being Catholic would have had to confess this. He would’ve committed the sin because he would’ve felt the cost of disrupting wedding plans is a $20 extortion fee he can afford; it is worth saving the wedding and possibly his well being and our well being, too, for just $20… really so little for us foreigners. Yet ok, I think I understand. In Catholicism there are absolute morals and so nonetheless regardless of circumstance, it is a sin, is that right?

The implication in the Catechism highlighted here is that no matter the circumstance it is wrong to participate, approve, protect and not hinder the evil doer. What about if my friend is in dire need to get back to traveling for the sake of his sick child who needs to get to the hospital. Would that still be immoral, a sin for some of you if he gave in and gave a bit of cash to the officer?

After we all got back to the U.S. after the wedding, our conversation went on to discuss how pervasive this problem of corruption is in the Philippines. Perhaps people with courage, with social standing can resist this. What about the many poor people who are extorted for money? My father-in-law is a native there and lives there. He has a driver who, when pulled over by cops, will give the cops the money (explicitly or implicitly) asked of him. Sometimes his driver has been pulled over for a traffic violation and other times for no reason. He says if his driver doesn’t give money he loses time - by having to be taken in for resisting or going all the way to city hall on his work day to deal with a traffic violation. And then there is money lost from not being able to work. He says it would be a great struggle if at the end of the day he does not have money to pay for food on the table and other basic necessities. He feels he has no other alternative. Personally, I see this poor driver and many in similar circumstances like his as victims and in no way should they be judged or held culpable. EVEN IF THEY ARE PRACTICING CATHOLICS. My father-in-law, a Catholic, drivrs short distances on occasion. He is a bit more well off than many in the Philippines. He has also gotten pulled over for no reason. Now he gives in and gives a few pesos to the officer because 1) he doesn’t want any trouble at his old age and 2) he feels if the officers were paid a just wage they wouldn’t have to resort to extortion 3) He does not believe God would be so harsh on him and the many others who give on. He sees them all, as I do, the victims. 4) He says the corruption in the country, going far back into history and deeply entrenched in the culture, is too great for the little people to deal with.

I’d love to hear feedback on these.

 

[Pup7]

Your friend should stay out of third world countries.

You should have paid the bribe against his wishes. I can’t imagine what a prison in the Philippines would be like, but I would never do anything to find out. His actions could have gotten you killed.

For your scrupulous friend, tell him that you were making a contribution to college fund of the Police Officer’s kid. I am sure the cop would have agreed to that stipulation.

The Philippines is a corrupt mess and a hotbed for terrorism.

As I like my neck where it is, I’d have handed him the $20.

 

[Vico]

…
In Catholicism there are absolute morals and so nonetheless regardless of circumstance, it is a sin, is that right?
…

No. “For an individual act to be morally good, the object, or what we are doing, must be objectively good. Some acts, apart from the intention or reason for doing them, are always wrong because they go against a fundamental or basic human good that ought never to be compromised. Direct killing of the innocent, torture, and rape are examples of acts that are always wrong. Such acts are referred to as intrinsically evil acts, meaning that they are wrong in themselves, apart from the reason they are done or the circumstances surrounding them.”

http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/morality/index.cfm

There are several factors to consider for culpable lack of charity or malice.

Catechism

1854 Sins are rightly evaluated according to their gravity. the distinction between mortal and venial sin, already evident in Scripture,129 became part of the tradition of the Church. It is corroborated by human experience.

1855 Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God’s law; it turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him. Venial sin allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it.

1857 For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: "Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent."131

1859 Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God’s law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart133 do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.

1862 One commits venial sin when, in a less serious matter, he does not observe the standard prescribed by the moral law, or when he disobeys the moral law in a grave matter, but without full knowledge or without complete consent.

 

[KJW5551]

I echo what @HolySpirit said. Why bother with travel to these places? Unless and until they clean themselves up of corruption and extrajudicial killings I see no reason to spend my money there.

P.S. for a country that many claim is one of the most Catholic in the world, it’s interesting to note that the Philippines has one of the worst priest-to-layperson ratios in the world. You think the U.S. has a shortage at roughly 2,000 Catholics per priest? How about 8,500 Catholics per priest.

 

[mdgspencer]

It isn’t a sin if you are forced to do it. He could have considered himself forced to do it because he would have caused a bad problem for the other people and be put into jail.
I have lived in the Philippines for 10 years, and no policeman has ever demanded a bribe from me. Not that it never happens, but I don’t find the possibility very much of a concern.

 

[Elf01]

he feels if the officers were paid a just wage they wouldn’t have to resort to extortion

Or maybe they use it because they have learned that they get away with it.

True anyway. If it wasn’t working they’d stop doing it. By paying up you are condoning not just the individual instance but the entire culture.

What it the next person pulled over would have to give money he needs for food?

Probably going OTT there. One defiance is probably not going to change a culture. Since the Philippines is a Catholic country though the Church should speak out about it.