BACOLOD CITY (PNA) — Bishop Vicente Navarra of the Diocese of Bacolod was joined by an estimated 5,000 lay leaders, Catholic faithful, students and militants in calling anew for the abolition of the pork barrel during a march-rally that converged at the city plaza here Monday.
Navarra said that so many social ills that beset the country today is deeply embedded in the culture of corruption.
“It is time to join hands to call for the abolition of the pork barrel,” the bishop said.
Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, who spoke at the rally, demanded the temporary abolition for six years of what he described as graft-ridden Congress.
“Without congress, we will progress,” Macalintal chanted, with the protestors joining him.
He said that with the temporary abolition of Congress for six years, the country would be able to save P211 billion that could be used to buy 70 billion kilos of rice for the Filipinos, build 180,000 public schools, and construct hundreds of kilometers of roads.
“The pork barrel from the passage of the Reproductive Health law that the senators and the congressmen enjoyed will be the same pork barrel that will send them to jail,” Macalintal said.
Meanwhile, Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said during the rally they want to show opposition to the pork barrel through the march- rally.
“If we do not do this, the politicians will not know our sentiments. In Manila, there was a simultaneous ringing of bells. Pork barrel leads to different evils like political patronage. The money which is supposedly intended for the poor have landed in the pockets of several individuals,” he said.
Pabillo clarified that the Church is not meddling in the political issues of the state but is just concerned with good governance which is part of its mission towards transformation.