MANILA (September 4) — As the government looks into widespread corruption in public funds, Filipinos are resorting to fasting and prayer.
A number of Catholic groups have started fasting and praying “for the common good of the country,” according to Vatican news agency Fides. One of the initiatives was headed by activist priest Fr. Robert Reyes, who performed a penitential ceremony in the parish of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios.
Later, Reyes and other priests went to the EDSA Shrine for a Mass and nighttime vigil while wearing sackcloth and ashes, which are biblical emblems of repentance.
For senators and justices who had already declared Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial unlawful, the ceremonies served as a call to action.
Calls for honesty and respect for the law in serving the Filipino people were repeated by other religious groups, such as Caritas Philippines and the Conference of Religious Superiors of the Philippines’ Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Commission.
Following Monday’s Senate Blue Ribbon hearing on flood control anomalies, Pablo Virgilio David, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines and a bishop from Kalookan, offered his thoughts.
“Can politicians credibly investigate the very system many of them also benefit from? Who inserted these projects into the national budget as pork in the first place, often at the expense of education, health, and social programs?” he wrote on Facebook.
David cited statements made by politicians including Sen. Ping Lacson, Mayor Vico Sotto of Pasig, and Mayor Benjamin Magalong of Baguio, who pointed to anomalies in flood improvements valued at billions of dollars that were purportedly squandered by contractors and politicians.Regarding public hearings, the prelate advised Filipinos to exercise discernment. “Therefore, we need to ask: are these hearings truly about accountability, or are they merely coded threats to rivals—’Jump ship if you know what’s good for you?’)?”, he said.
David emphasized the influence of young Filipinos in the digital sphere and urged them to take action.
“The keys are in your possession. You live in a digital world where lies and truth are always at odds. Make use of your platforms for vigilance as well as outrage. Call for improvements, provide facts, and expose injustice. Make corruption shameful again,” he declared.
