Cardinal urges ‘sustained’ protests against corruption

By Roy Lagarde/CBCP News

A top Catholic Church leader on Sunday called for continued protests against corruption, urging Filipinos to move beyond one-day gatherings.

Speaking before thousands at the EDSA People Power Monument, Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David pressed for “sustained action” to resist what he described as a culture of graft.

“We encourage that such sustained action be carried out nationwide as a sign of our unity on this day of peaceful resolve,” said David, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

He called on government agencies and oversight bodies to speed up investigations and “hold accountable those who must be held accountable.”

David said the public is clamoring for “concrete solutions, not empty words, not grandstanding, not political shows, not endless delaying tactics.”

“Enough is enough,” he declared. “Let us not allow this issue to simply die a natural death.”

The cardinal lamented that corruption scandals in the past were often buried in “political accommodations and compromises.”

Thousands marched to the monument in what organizers called the “Trillion Peso March,” which coincided with the 53rd anniversary of martial law declared by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

Priests, nuns, seminarians and laypeople joined the protest, which denounced alleged corruption in flood-control and other infrastructure projects.

Simultaneous prayer rallies were held in dioceses nationwide, demanding accountability in multi-billion-peso flood-control and other government projects.

David also urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to prioritize a proposed House measure giving greater authority to investigators of anomalous projects, including budget insertions.

“Corruption is not just about stolen money,” David said. “It is about the future that continues to be stolen — communities that are always flooded, an environment being destroyed, and opportunities wasted for our children.”

Cardinal Pablo David, President of the Catholics Bishops Conference of the Philippines, and Fr. Wilmer Joseph Tria, Vice-President of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines, join the Trillion Peso March at the People Power Monument on Sunday, Sept 21 (Photo credit: Nikko Balbedina/CBCP News, CEAP)