‘Let us not retreat into silence,’ say Filipino bishops after elections

‘The work of democracy does not end on election day. It begins anew – with every citizen, every leader, and every choice we make moving forward.’

Catholic bishops urged Filipinos to stay vigilant after the 12 May national elections that served as a referendum on the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Supporters of both Marcos and his former ally, Vice President Sara Duterte, won seats in the Philippines’ 24-member Senate, as tension grew between the country’s two highest leaders.

The current roster of senators will decide the tenor of politics in the run-up to the 2028 presidential elections. The Senate is to preside over Duterte’s impeachment trial, a situation further complicated by the detention of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

“Let us not retreat into silence after the ballots are counted,” said Bishop of Kidapawan Jose Colin Bagaforo, president of Caritas Philippines, the social action arm of the Filipino bishops’ conference.

In a statement, Bagaforo said Filipinos should “remain engaged – amplifying our voices to call for genuine servant-leadership, the eradication of corruption, the dismantling of entrenched political dynasties, and the defence of truth in the face of disinformation”.

“The work of democracy does not end on election day. It begins anew – with every citizen, every leader, and every choice we make moving forward,” Bagaforo said.

The Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan Socrates Villegas, a former president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said the 12 May elections had been marred by the perennial problems of vote buying and election-related violence.

He added that the process was “blotted by lies” and “coloured with vulgarity”, in reference to disinformation and vulgar language used by popular candidates. Before the 2016 elections that brought Mr Duterte to the presidency, Villegas was one of those who criticised him for cursing about Pope Francis in a campaign speech.

“Really and truly, no elections are perfect. We keep on hoping. We have levelled up a bit, but the mountain peak is still far from sight,” said Villegas. The archbishop emphasised that good citizenship “is not just about elections and ballots”.

“In between elections, our duty is vigilance. Let us hold the elected officials accountable all the time. We owe them civil obedience but have a duty to criticize them so they can be better. We are their bosses, and they are not our masters. We spoke through the ballot,” Villegas said.

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