Tagle hits pork barrel as ‘form of injustice’
Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle. AP FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle said the controversy on Priorirty Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or “pork barrel” was a form of injustice.
“At present, we witness in our society that cheating and corruption is a form of non-giving. Instead of giving what is due to others and to the country, resources are being denied from them. We do not only lack love for others, but we also lack a sense of justice,” Tagle said in a statement released by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
Cardinal Tagle, in his keynote speech for Caritas Manila’s Generosity Conference on Sunday, called on Filipinos to turn their back from greed by “letting the values of fairness and generosity reign in their lives.”
With revelations on the PDAF and the alleged bribery in the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) committed by lawmakers themselves, Tagle urged the laity to be sensitive to the needs of the less fortunate.
“Some people think that the act of giving is only a form of charity, but what they fail to see is that there is also a need to fulfill the act of giving that is according to justice,” he added.
The prelate said practicing a sense of justice should be rooted in compassion, not only in equality.
Tagle’s statement was issued in light of the alleged misuse of PDAF by lawmakers who were supposedly channeling the funds to bogus nongovernment organizations set up by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles.
Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, one of the senators who has been named in the scam, ratted last week in a privilege speech on colleagues in the Senate and House of Representatives who allegedly accepted a P50 million bribe to impeach then Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.
Napoles, Estrada and several other lawmakers are facing plunder charges.
Days after, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad divulged the names of lawmakers who received additional P50 million.
He also slammed politicians who loudly displayed their names and faces on their sponsored government projects funded with taxpayers’ money.
“It gives me the creeps to see government projects plastered with the names and faces of government officials who grab credit for the construction of various infrastructure projects,” the prelate said.
The cardinal noted that these politicians must not take credit from “what the people rightfully deserve.”
“Do not say that these projects are built as an act of generosity on your part because that is a demand of justice that you should give as justice demands,” Tagle said.
“When these poor people cry out and seek help from the Lord, be prepared for God will hear and listen to their call…These teachings are set in the time of Moses, but until now we still experience them. When will we ever learn?” he added.
Related story:
Janet Lim-Napoles and the pork barrel scam
