Bishops, laity challenge the cancer of corruption

by Father Shay Cullen Profiles in Catholicism

Typhoons, floods and earthquakes continue to rock the Philippines, bringing more destruction, misery and poverty to farms, homes and communities. Worse than these is the cancer of corruption eating at the heart and soul of the nation, inflicting similar suffering on millions of Filipinos. The good news is that the tens of thousands who joined the anti-corruption protests at Rizal Park and the People Power Monument on Sept. 21 demanded accountability and an end to the criminal political cartels and dynasties that have plundered the Philippines’ coffers for decades.

Greenpeace says P1.089 trillion (about $18 billion) of the government’s climate-related expenditures have been robbed from ordinary Filipinos since 2023. The culture of political corruption and corporate greed has resulted in greater poverty. Income and social inequality in the country have grown worse.

he silence, intimidation and fear that grew during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte has been broken by tens of thousands of people, young and old alike, who rallied on Sept. 21 to denounce the corrupt politicians and their public works contractors who masterminded the plundering of trillions of pesos in taxpayers’ money. The People’s Declaration for Climate Justice: End Corruption and Hold Polluters Accountable is a protest movement that has awakened the moral conscience of many people and gathered civil society organizations and some outspoken progressive bishops to take to the streets to highlight the state of the manmade calamity afflicting the nation.

“Greenpeace is joining millions of Filipinos in voicing out their anger and disgust over systemic corruption and plunder of taxpayer’s money by government officials and contractors...” Greenpeace senior climate campaigner Virginia Benosa-Llorin said.

“Corruption and greed are undermining the ability of millions of Filipinos to survive in the face of climate change. Flood control project funds are climate adaptation funds — money meant to protect Filipino communities, but these are being plundered by corrupt government officials and contractors in the scale of hundreds of billions,” she added.

Before a huge crowd of protesters at Rizal Park, progressive Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of San Carlos called on the Catholic Church to be more involved in demanding justice and opposing evil, insisting that it must stand, “arm in arm with the people, alongside the young and old, united in the struggle for justice and true change.”

 “To make our collective action truly effective, we must organize and engage in transformative actions. This is how we broaden our shared dream of social transformation,” he said.

Church leaders stand up

A Church-based group, Church Leaders Council for National Transformation (CLCNT), led the rally at the EDSA Shrine and called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to hold corrupt officials accountable. The group believes these officials must be investigated, charged and stand trial for their alleged crimes. It demanded that justice be done and called for the total transparency of the wealth of all politicians and the enactment of legislation to control politically powerful families. The group also demanded that the government expedite trials and that there be restitution, publish real statements of assets, liabilities and net worth, including Marcos’; dismantle political dynasties and pork barrel funds; criminalize budget insertions; and allow public participation in budget deliberations.

Bishop Colin Bagaforo of Kidapawan was there at the rally and supported the call for transparency and justice. He encouraged the youth to continue their action and march for social justice using social media to spread the Gospel message by being “warriors of truth in the digital space.”

Bishop Robbie Gaa of Novaliches also spoke at the rally, and he was quoted as saying: “Now, we challenge President Marcos Jr. to act decisively, not by shielding anyone, but by letting the truth come out.”

A few brave bishops preaching the Gospel message will not convert the corrupt elite. It seems that most of the hierarchy and their priests are too distant from the suffering people of God and busy dressing up in golden robes for multiple Masses, forgetting that Jesus of Nazareth stood with the poor and challenged corrupt leaders in society. In solidarity with the poor, he said: “Whatever you do for the least of my brothers and sisters, you do for me” (Mt 25:40).

The growing unrest is rising from an ocean of poverty in a nation rich in natural resources and productivity, but corruption is causing inequality in society, keeping wages low, and keeping social deprivation and unemployment high.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) show that the country’s national poverty incidence was 15.5 percent in 2023. This means millions of Filipinos couldn’t earn enough to feed themselves and their children.

As of July 1, 2024, the official population of the Philippines was 112,729,484, and 15.5 percent of that were 17,473,069 Filipinos who went hungry every day, unable to meet their basic food needs. Some 57.71 million people live in rural areas, and the PSA said 22 percent of them, or 12.69 million, went hungry every day despite living in food-producing areas. Urban poverty is also severe. The very poor do survive, some by collecting leftovers from restaurants and making a kind of stew called “pag-pag.”

Results of the Social Weather Stations’ April 2025 survey showed that 55 percent of families, or an estimated 15.5 million, considered themselves poor. Assuming an average household size of 4.1 persons, based on 2020 data, this would translate to approximately 63.55 million people in self-rated poverty. We need to ask why.

The answer is most likely found in what the CLCNT said about dismantling politically powerful families. The 1987 Philippine Constitution says political dynasties should be banned. But because these families continue to control Congress, there is no chance they would commit political harakiri and pass laws banning themselves and their relatives from public office. So, we could say the Philippines is doomed by the political dynasties running the nation for their own benefit and that of their cronies.

They are like the superrich Dives in the story told by Jesus of Nazareth. In it, Dives would not share the crumbs that fell from his table with Lazarus, the beggar dying at his gate. The millions of impoverished and hungry Filipinos will just have to continue to survive on the “pag-pag” falling from the tables of the wealthy.