Bishop calls for ‘kind hearts’ to run the country

A year before the 2022 general elections, a Catholic bishop on Sunday urged Filipinos with “kind hearts” to devote themselves to the country in a bid to eliminate “trapos” (traditional politicians) from the race.

Bishop Broderick Pabillo of the Manila Archdiocese said the election, which is scheduled on May 9 next year, could embody the social aspect of love, particularly love for the country.

He said, however, that the 2022 polls could also expose candidates’ and elected public officials’ tendency to neglect and take advantage of their constituents.

“It will be difficult, but we cannot let ‘trapos’ be our only choices in the elections. Is election just a matter of choosing [the] lesser evil?” Pabillo said during his homily at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Pasay City.

The word “trapo” is used as a derogatory term in the Philippines that usually refers to a politician perceived as “belonging to a conventional and corrupt ruling class,” according to Oxford English Dictionary.

Despite the raging COVID-19 pandemic that may inevitably affect the conduct of the national elections, the Commission on Elections has said there was “no reason” to postpone the polls.

Pabillo warned the public that they should elect candidates who were worthy of serving the Filipino people for the common good, rather than those who promise favors and financial “aid.”

“But it is not enough that you vote wisely. How will you vote wisely if there are no worthy candidates with kind hearts? Politics is not evil; involving one’s self in politics is a way of showing love for the country,” he said. INQ