The Council of Bishops of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) has called on its members to confront what it describes as a deepening moral and political crisis in the country.
The prelates urged the faithful to join the Nov. 30 nationwide protest against corruption.
In a pastoral statement released, the bishops said the recent Iglesia ni Cristo rally and the political exchanges that followed “have exposed an unrest long simmering in our nation.”
They warned that the escalating feud among political clans shows how powerful families “now wield their power to protect interests, expand influence, and discredit rivals.”
“What we witness today is not a genuine struggle for moral renewal but a clash of ambitions among powerful families,” the bishops said, adding that these actions “echo the prophet’s rebuke in Amos 5:11–12, where rulers ‘trample on the poor’ and ‘turn aside justice’ while enriching themselves.”
The statement argues that the turmoil confronting the country reflects “not merely political but moral and spiritual” decay.
The bishops lamented that “public authority must not be abused,” yet leaders continue “to accumulate wealth, manipulate institutions, and perpetuate dynastic control.” Such behavior, they said, stands in contrast to the example of Jesus, “who ‘came not to be served but to serve.’”
As public frustration with the Marcos Jr. administration grows, the UCCP warned that Filipinos “must not be forced to choose between rival dynasties whose loyalties lie within their own fortified circles of power.”
The bishops called on church members to practice “prayerful vigilance and conscientious engagement,” encouraging participation in peaceful, lawful expressions of conscience that uphold truth and human dignity.
Citing Ephesians 5:11–12, they urged the faithful to “have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.”
They also asked all congregations to meaningfully observe Bonifacio Day, saying it should “renew our commitment to defend the freedoms for which Andrés Bonifacio and countless Filipinos offered their lives.”
Honoring his legacy, they said, means resisting efforts “to silence the people or distort our nation’s history.”
As a concrete step, the UCCP enjoined members to take part in the mass action “Protestang Bayan Kontra Kurakot: Baha sa Luneta” at 9 a.m. on November 30.
The bishops described the event as a “peaceful and principled gathering” to “resist corruption, defend the truth, and demand accountability from those who wield political and economic power.”
“Trusting in God’s righteousness and holding fast to the hope of a renewed nation,” they said, “we commit ourselves to walk with the people in their striving for justice.”
