Prayer rally seeks scrapping of all pork
A COALITION of Catholic clergy, religious and laity is urging the faithful to gather at Plaza Miranda in Manila today for a day of prayer and vigilance, aimed at setting the stage for a people’s initiative that would completely scrap presidential and congressional privileges.
The Church People’s Alliance Against Pork Barrel ( CPAPB) declared June 25 a National Day of Prayer and Vigilance amid the ongoing investigation of lawmakers accused of misusing their pork barrel allocations.
“We call on the faithful to gather in Plaza Miranda [ today] at 4: 30 p. m. Let us pray and add our voice [ to] the righteous clamor of the people to abolish pork,” said CPAPB spokesperson Nardy Sabino.
People’s initiative
Sabino said the prayer event would set the stage for the people’s initiative that seeks to do away with the presidential and congressional privileges.
“The event will also be a prelude to the education-signature campaign to pass the bill on the people’s initiative to abolish the graft-ridden pork barrel,” he said.
He said the people’s initiative “will give voice to the otherwise voiceless people and will enable them to have a stronger impact on the legal procedures, especially that Congress and Senate members have been involved in corruption.”
Sabino’s statements were posted on CBCP News, the official news service of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
‘Call for justice’
Sabino further stated that while the group welcomed the Supreme Court ruling that declared the Priority Development Assistance Fund unconstitutional, it remained vigilant that the same decision be handed over the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), touted as the “President’s pork.”
“We cannot remain idle or numbed. We are witnesses to the people’s will for change that has evolved into various forms of actions. And we pursue this call for justice until all guilty are made accountable,” Sabino said.
He also encouraged those whowould not be able to attend the event today to offer an evening Mass, a prayer or any symbolic gesture for the same intentions.