Philippine bishops urge voters to reject corrupt politicians

The Catholic bishops of the Philippines are urging their voters to reject "notoriously corrupt" politicians running in next year's national elections. In a pastoral letter read out in churches on Sunday, the Church leaders sought to remind the electorate that voting is not merely a political right, but "a moral obligation".

The letter which was signed by Archbishop Socrates Villegas, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), called on the public to "vote for the right reasons ... because you trust a person to lead the community and to lead the country."

The bishops also urged voters to end political dynasties by not voting for candidates from the same family who want to perpetuate the family's hold on public office. "There is no monopoly on ability for government, and truly no one in government is indispensable," the bishops said. The bishops cited criticisms that previous Church efforts to educate voters had come too late to be effective. "It may never be again said that we spoke too late," the letter stated.

The bishops nevertheless warned the electorate not to jump to conclusions "in the absence of incontrovertible evidence". "These days, one's reputation, so painstakingly built by sincerity and honesty over the years, can so easily be tarnished by the truly evil work of 'spin-doctors' in the payroll of one or the other political aspirant," the pastoral letter said.

Last month, Philippine Church leaders launched a campaign against "vote buying" and "vote selling", dubbed "Thou Shall Not Steal". In 2013, the country's Catholic bishops questioned the results of national elections due to reports of rampant vote fraud. The National Secretariat for Social Action of the bishops' conference said those elections made "a mockery of the country's democracy." The bishops noted that although the elections were relatively peaceful, there were "glaring discrepancies and election violations".

Read the full letter here: http://cbcpwebsite.com/Messages/elections.html

Source: UCAN/CBCP