Vidal asks anti-pork rallyists to stay peaceful

THOSE joining anti-pork barrel rallies scheduled on Sept. 11 and 15 should use peaceful means to air their sentiments, a Cebu prelate said yesterday.

“Let them pray to understand the issues, to voice their concerns, and to let the government know the sentiments of the people,” 82-year-old Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal said.

He told reporters that pork barrel funds given to legislators can be a source of graft and corruption.

“If possible, this (pork barrel) should be abolished because it could be an occasion for abuse,” he said.

Two more rallies are planned in Cebu City on Sept. 11 and 15 following the Aug. 26 march rally joined by 3,000 people from Fuente Osmeña to Plaza Independencia in downtown Cebu City.

In a pastoral letter last week, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said the legislators’ pork barrel system and the politics of patronage that it promotes is immoral and an “act of terrorism” against the poor.

Vidal said it is up to each person to decide whether to participate in street protests.

“If that is the people’s will, we have to respect that provided it is done in a peaceful way so that we will not have another revolution,” he said.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma has called for a meeting of civil society groups on Sept. 12 (reset from Sept. 11) at 7 p.m. at the Sacred Heart Center to discuss what is the next move after the Aug. 16 Plaza Independencia rally, which he supported.

He said corruption is “not just an offense of malicious unscrupulous citizens or the betrayal of elected public officials” but also “an offense against God.” Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol