Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan warned that indifference is driving inequality and corruption in Philippine society, likening the plight of today’s working poor to the biblical Lazarus ignored at the rich man’s gate.
Preaching on September 28, the head of the Catholic bishops’ conference said that countless families in the Philippines represent the “Lazaruses” of today—workers who toil but still cannot afford a decent life.
“Isn’t it true that the many Lazaruses of Metro Manila live just at the margins?” he asked. “They are not beggars—they work like carabaos, yet because their wages are meager, they cannot afford decent housing, cannot feed or educate their children properly, cannot afford hospitalization when sickness strikes, like leptospirosis when the esteros overflow and flood their homes because of failed or ghost flood-control projects. They are the majority.”
The bishop contrasted their struggles with the extravagance of the wealthy, who live behind walls and security systems in exclusive subdivisions.
He described a culture that glorifies luxury and excess, pointing to examples such as purchasing a Rolls Royce simply for its complimentary umbrella, spending more than 700,000 pesos on a single meal for four, giving a spouse a ring worth 50 million pesos, or wearing a watch equivalent to four years of a construction worker’s wages.
He said such excesses send a dangerous message in a country where most live hand to mouth. “The unverbalized statement is ‘I DON’T CARE. SUFFER IF YOU MUST, AS LONG AS I ENJOY MYSELF,’” he said.
David said the poor are also victims of a legal system that punishes them swiftly while allowing the rich to evade accountability.
“Meanwhile, the Lazaruses around them, when tempted to shoplift a can of corned beef just to stave off hunger, once caught—straight to jail!” he said.
He noted that even petty street games are criminalized, explaining that when storeowners refuse to pursue charges, police often fabricate cases by invoking illegal gambling.
He contrasted this with the reality that online gambling is now perfectly legal and accessible to anyone through a mobile phone, available at any time of the day, making the punishment of poor people playing cara y cruz appear absurd.
He contrasted this with the impunity enjoyed by politicians, contractors, and government officials accused of stealing billions in public funds.
“The poor are bullied by ‘law enforcers’ in this country; they have no chance against the law,” David said. “But those who tamper with the National Budget with insertions that deprive funds for social services—the politicians, contractors, and their partners-in-crime in government agencies, who steal billions from the treasury—they cannot be jailed. They can always afford lawyers.”
The prelate stressed that corruption in government reflects the same moral failure as the rich man’s blindness in the Gospel. He said it is “not just rainwater that floods our country,” but “it is corruption.”
“And the root of corruption is indifference. Lack of conscience,” David added.
David warned that those who ignore the suffering around them are digging a spiritual chasm that cannot be bridged. He reminded the faithful that wealth and privilege offer no security before God.
“When we are moved to care, it is they who help us. We are the ones receiving the favor—for our goodness is awakened, we learn to be human and humane,” he said.
