MANILA (UCAN): Thousands of Filipinos are expected to join nationwide anti-corruption rallies led by the Catholic Church on November 30, amid growing public anger and the worst political crisis in years.
Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David, the outgoing president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines [CBCP], invited Filipinos to attend the Trillion Peso March which coincides with a public holiday in honour of Filipino hero, Andres Bonifacio.
The march to be staged in Manila and the provinces, aims to replicate and possibly surpass the success of the Trillion Peso March on September 21, which drew hundreds of thousands of protesters in various parts of the country.
Recent protests condemned the plunder of billions of pesos in flood control projects, a scandal that has implicated allies of both the president Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and the vice president, Sara Duterte.
The corruption controversy erupted in the context of a feud between Marcos and Duterte, former allies who are now bitter political enemies.
Cardinal David invited parishes, basic ecclesial communities, schools, youth ministries, mandated organisations, renewal movements, civil society organisations, business groups, educators, farmers, and workers to the rally through a video message for the Feast of Christ the King on November 23.
“We saw it last September 21, and we will see it again now: The Church is not only at the altar but also out on the streets. It does not only pray and go to church. It also analyses, discerns, and takes action together to promote social justice,” the cardinal said.
He called for a “peaceful, patriotic, and united” national statement for an honest government, the proper use of public funds, and a nation that truly fears God and cares for countrymen.
We saw it last September 21, and we will see it again now: The Church is not only at the altar but also out on the streets. It does not only pray and go to church. It also analyses, discerns, and takes action together to promote social justice
Cardinal David
He said the rally would be led by the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Social Action, Justice, and Peace “in the spirit of synodality.”
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Cardinal David, who is also the vice president of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences, will not be able to attend the rally because he will participate in the Asian Mission Congress in Penang, Malaysia.
The 66-year-old cardinal, however, led the Mass in honour of Christ the King as a prelude to the nationwide protests. It was held at the historic EDSA Shrine, which commemorates the 1986 People Power Revolution that toppled the current president’s father, the late dictator, Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr.
“A true king, according to Jesus, shepherds people, not persecutes; heals, not hurts; seeks the lost, not drives them away; unites, not divides; serves, not oppresses,” the cardinal said. “And today, in the midst of our call for transparency and accountability, and honest and clean governance, it is clear that our nation needs this kind of kingship.”
Archbishop Alberto Uy of Cebu, the largest archdiocese in the Philippines, invited Catholics to join the Walk for Integrity and Good Governance.
Bishop Marcelino Antonio Maralit Jr. of San Pablo, also invited members of his diocese to join the Trillion Peso March in Laguna province on the same day.
During a Mass at a prayer rally on November 22, Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista of Imus urged, “With the anomalies happening in our country, we must keep watch over all of them. If someone needs to be jailed, then they should be jailed.”
“Good governance, transparency and accountability” have been weakened by officials seeking personal gain, CBCP News reported Bishop Evangelista as saying.
