MANILA (LiCAS News): Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David of Kalookan warned that indifference is driving inequality and corruption in Philippine society, likening the plight of today’s working poor to the biblical Lazarus ignored at the rich man’s gate.
Preaching on September 28, the head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said that countless families in the Philippines represent the “Lazaruses” of today—workers who toil but still cannot afford a decent life.
“Isn’t it true that the many Lazaruses of Metro Manila live just at the margins?” he asked. “They are not beggars—they work like carabaos, yet because their wages are meagre, they cannot afford decent housing, cannot feed or educate their children properly, cannot afford hospitalisation when sickness strikes, like leptospirosis when the esteros [canals] overflow and flood their homes because of failed or ghost flood-control projects. They are the majority.”
The bishop contrasted their struggles with the extravagance of the wealthy, who live behind walls and security systems in exclusive subdivisions.
Cardinal David said the poor are also victims of a legal system that punishes them swiftly while allowing the rich to evade accountability
He described a culture that glorifies luxury and excess, pointing to examples such as purchasing a Rolls Royce simply for its complimentary umbrella, spending more than 700,000 pesos [HK$ 93,492] on a single meal for four, giving a spouse a ring worth 50 million pesos [HK$6.67 million], or wearing a watch equivalent to four years of a construction worker’s wages.
He said such excesses send a dangerous message in a country where most live hand to mouth. “The unverbalised statement is ‘I DON’T CARE. SUFFER IF YOU MUST, AS LONG AS I ENJOY MYSELF,’” he said.
Cardinal David said the poor are also victims of a legal system that punishes them swiftly while allowing the rich to evade accountability.
“Meanwhile, the Lazaruses around them, when tempted to shoplift a can of corned beef just to stave off hunger, once caught—straight to jail!” he said.
The cardinal noted that even petty street games are criminalised, explaining that when storeowners refuse to pursue charges, police often fabricate cases by invoking illegal gambling.
As we celebrate the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. The Chaplaincy to Filipino Migrants organises an on-line talk every Tuesday at 9.00pm. You can join us at:
https://www.Facebook.com/CFM-Gifted-to-give-101039001847033
They are not beggars—they work like carabaos, yet because their wages are meagre, they cannot afford decent housing, cannot feed or educate their children properly…
Cardinal David
He contrasted this with the reality that online gambling is now perfectly legal and accessible to anyone through a mobile phone, available at any time of the day, making the punishment of poor people playing cara y cruz [“face’ and “cross”, a game of chance involving two coins] appear absurd.
He contrasted this with the impunity enjoyed by politicians, contractors, and government officials accused of stealing billions in public funds.
“The poor are bullied by ‘law enforcers’ in this country; they have no chance against the law,” Cardinal David said. “But those who tamper with the National Budget with insertions that deprive funds for social services—the politicians, contractors, and their partners-in-crime in government agencies, who steal billions from the treasury—they cannot be jailed. They can always afford lawyers.”
The cardinal stressed that corruption in government reflects the same moral failure as the rich man’s blindness in the gospel. He said it is “not just rainwater that floods our country,” but “it is corruption.”
He stressed, “And the root of corruption is indifference. Lack of conscience.”
Cardinal David warned that those who ignore the suffering around them are digging a spiritual chasm that cannot be bridged. He reminded the faithful that wealth and privilege offer no security before God.
“When we are moved to care, it is they who help us. We are the ones receiving the favour—for our goodness is awakened, we learn to be human and humane,” he said.
