Caritas Philippines, the social action arm of the Catholic Church in the country, said it will work with the people to hold politicians who won in this year’s elections accountable to their campaign promises.
“We will start asking for a receipt,” said Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, head of Caritas Philippines, in a statement on Friday, May 20.
The prelate announced that the organization will soon be starting its nationwide “post-election accountability program.”
“Now the real work starts, and we are serious with our commitment to make our elected officials accountable to their election promises,” he said.
“We would like to remind all that as you take oath, remember your covenant with the people, remember your promises to us, because we will not forget,” read Bishop Bagaforo’s statement.
The Caritas program aims to sustain the increased participation of the lay faithful to principled politics. It is is designed to “fight misinformation and disinformation, assess and improve engagement of the church in social transformation, and establish community-based good governance and responsible citizenship movements.”
“Government accountability will only happen if people in the grassroots are empowered and equipped to ask questions and claim their inherent right to government information, quality public service, and better governance,” said Bishop Bagaforo.
Father Antonio Labiao Jr., Caritas Philippines executive secretary, said how the church will respond to the urgent need “to organize, capacitate, and support community leaders and organizations will determine the level of maturity of our next political exercises.”
