Saturday’s announcement by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference in the Philippines that it would not accept donations from politicians, particularly those involved in “destructive Industries”, was made by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of The Philippines.
According to the CBCP, such industries include coal and fossil gas projects, logging and quarrying, and destructive mines.
The group said it would like to see a candidate who pays attention to the environment at the 2022 polls. However, they stated they will not endorse any candidate.
“Ang pagtanggap, ng donasyon, sa mga Polito” is a sensitive subject, especially for politicians in power. [We never know]if these funds come from government,” Pablo Virgilio David (CBCP president) said at Saturday’s 123rd CBCP plenary assembly.
“In general mayroon kaming ganyang policy, ‘yung acceptance din ng donation, kasi we don’t want to encourage patronage politics.”
The CBCP does NOT encourage businessmen in industries that impact the environment to donate money to the Church.
David stated, “To avoid such embarrassment, ‘wag na lang kayong mag–donate,” and that Church officials must be careful in confirming the source of donations.
CBCP released a pastoral statement where church leaders decried the pain caused by the COVID-19 epidemic and environmental problems as the country was battered.
“This is alarming because, while countries that are vulnerable to the effects of the pandemic have also suffered from the increased calamities caused by the instability of the biosphere. They stated that the Philippines was ravaged by several tropical storms, including those declared to be the most deadly in the world between 2013 and 2021.
David encouraged the public, because of environmental problems to be alert over industries being closed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
“Even the implementation ay mahinang–mahina of our ecological laws ay diyan. Sabi nila, we have the best laws pero an question: Are they being implemented?”
— Report from Reniel Pawid, ABS-CBN News
