Bishops slam government over plunder, killings
MANILA: Three senior Catholic prelates denounced the Duterte administration for allegedly promoting a “culture of impunity,” highlighted by plunder and killings, even as the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the 110 million Filipinos and the economy.
“It’s like living in the valley of death - killing of drug users and opponents, helpless death in the pandemic, death by shameless corruption that seems to break all records. Killings! Murders! Deaths!” said a joint statement from the archbishops, which was released on Saturday.
The statement, considered as the strongest denunciation so far of the Duterte administration amid the surge in COVID-19 infections, was signed by Archbishops Socrates Villegas (of Lingayen-dagupan archdiocese in Pangasinan), Marlo Peralta (of Nueva Segovia in Ilocos Sur) and Ricardo Baccay (of Tuguegarao in Cagayan) in Northern Luzon.
The three senior prelates in this predominantly Catholic nation, belong to the influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines ( CBCP) where Villegas also served as the president.
Specifically, they noted that for the past five years, more than 30,000 poor Filipinos have been killed in Duterte’s violent and bloody war on drugs.
The figure stood in sharp contrast to the national police claim that only close to 6,000 armed suspects were killed for electing to fight it out with the lawmen instead of surrendering.
“We saw death in our homes and offices,” they pointed out.
“The heroic medical health workers risked their safety and some perished with their PPES (personal protection equipment) on. While other nations have risen from the pandemic, our death toll continues to rise.”
Despite its vehement denials, the Duterte administration is now beset with accusations of “planned plunder” arising from the alleged overprice of COVID-19 basic items like face masks and PPES purchased from Chinese firms.
The alleged anomaly is being investigated by the powerful Senate Blue Ribbon Commitee.