Group calls for pealing of church bells to show disdain for pork barrel

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Church bells across the country will peal on Friday in a show of solidarity with Filipinos calling for the abolition of the graft-tainted pork barrel and to sound off condemnation of the acts of bribery, corruption and abuse of power committed by the country’s leaders.

The Church People’s Alliance Against Pork Barrel urged all parishes across the country to join in the tolling of church bells for three minutes on Oct. 11 at 1 p.m. “to signal our deep attachment to the cries and struggles of the poor for justice, peace and society.”

The newly formed group is a coalition of Filipino bishops, priests, nuns and lay leaders of various religious denominations.

In a statement, the group said the ringing of church bells would also signify the demand of the people for the abolition of the pork barrel, rechanneling of the funds to social services such as education, health and housing, and holding accountable all those involved in the P10-billion pork barrel scam.

The three-minute activity is also meant to support the call for the declaration of the Disbursement Acceleration Program unconstitutional and the demand for presidential accountability for violating the Constitution, said Fr. Ben Alforque, convenor of the group.

He said the exposé on the pork barrel scam and the implementation of DAP were a “manifestation of massive robbery of the people’s treasure chest.”

“The practice has been so embedded in the system of governance, and ‘cover-up,’ if not ‘palusot,’ has been a way to perpetuate [it]. The righteous path as promised has become an occasion to pilferage…. the immoral acts and the structural corruption have torn down sense of uprightness and decency,” he said.

It was in such circumstances that the Church was being called “more than ever” to take decisive action and to side with the poor, who are the direct and indirect victims of graft and corruption, Alforque added.

“To make our common desire be known by the people and by the rulers of the country that we are calling on a simultaneous nationwide ringing of church bells…the prophetic ringing of bells represents our call to the leaders of the country to repent and stop deceiving the people with criminal schemes meant to steal what belongs to [them],” he said.

In inviting parishes to participate in the activity, which will be kicked off by a Holy Mass at Sta. Cruz Parish Church in Manila, Alforque also called on the faithful to pray for the abolition of the pork barrel.

RELATED STORY:

Janet Napoles and the pork barrel scam