More Catholic religious congregations and dioceses in the Philippines have denounced systemic corruption in government and called on the faithful to take part in the September 21 nationwide rally against the misuse of public funds.
The Society of the Divine Word (SVD) – Philippine Central Province, through its Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Office, expressed solidarity with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in condemning the deliberate misuse of flood-control funds.
The group said corruption is not merely mismanagement but “a grave injustice against the poor, betrayal of public trust and the common good.”
Quoting the bishops’ recent pastoral letter, the SVD warned, “If floodwaters rise because public funds are stolen, the greater flood is corruption itself, drowning our nation’s future.”
The Redemptorist Missionaries of the Philippines issued a separate pastoral statement, calling corruption “a sin against God and the poor.”
The missionaries said it is not isolated wrongdoing but “a system—a machine of fraud and theft that has been embedded in government transactions, contracts, and projects for decades.”
“Every peso stolen is food, medicine, and dignity taken from those who suffer most,” they added. Declaring that “enough is enough,” they urged Filipinos to join the call for “accountability, restitution, and real reform.”
The Vincentian Social Ministry of the Congregation of the Mission Philippine Province also condemned corruption in public works, especially in flood control projects.
“Every peso stolen from public coffers is stolen from the poor,” the group stressed, adding that corruption worsens the plight of the most vulnerable who face disasters and displacement.
The Diocese of Gumaca, in a circular to clergy, religious, and lay faithful, likewise urged its communities to join the September 21 protest in Manila or hold simultaneous parish-level activities.
The diocese encouraged prayers for the nation, catechesis on the moral dimension of corruption, and the formation of parish monitoring teams to ensure accountability in government projects.
“We will join as one community of Christians in the Diocese of Gumaca to stand against corruption and push for good governance,” wrote Bishop Euginus L. Cañete, MJ, in the pastoral letter.
The coordinated statements add momentum to the upcoming protest rally, which organizers have dubbed the “Trillion Peso March.”
The mobilization aims to hold the government accountable for alleged large-scale anomalies in flood-control projects.
