The Philippines is a nation in which both the political and the religious spheres have overlapped regularly and at times, unnecessarily.

Recent statements made by Sen. Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao in which he attempted to utilize Scripture in formulating his pro-death penalty argument have been met with incredulity. Another example would be of the mercurial president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, speaking out about what he called the hypocritical nature of the Church.

From time to time, President Duterte brings up the many sexual abuse scandals faced by the clergy, including his own experience. The president claims that he was molested by a Jesuit priest while he was studying high school at the Ateneo de Davao University. He has also repeatedly questioned the Church’s moral ascendancy, with his tirades oftentimes pockmarked with colorful expletives.

These statements made by the president himself and the administration’s own social media vanguard have framed the Catholic Church in a negative light to the point of discrediting it as an institution in the eyes of the people. One may say that these attacks have effectively silenced the Church, drowning out the litany of statements that were issued on current government policy amidst a cacophonous barrage on social media.

Perhaps this is the reason why the Church has been perceived as somewhat muted given the rampant extrajudicial killings (EJKs) supposedly connected to the administration’s war on drugs, in contrast to its vocal and active involvement during the deliberations on the Reproductive Health Law.

Broken silence

Jayeel S. Cornelio, PhD, director of the Development Studies Program and a sociologist of religion, asserts that the Church has not isolated itself from the volatile social climate of the nation.

In an interview with The GUIDON, Cornelio stated that elements of the Catholic Church, particularly the parishes, are making sustained efforts to alleviate—or at the very least, raise awareness—on the war on drugs’ effects in their respective locales. He also says that the Archdiocese of Manila is organizing individual parishes under its jurisdiction in response to the rise in EJKs within their respective communities.

“What appears to be muted to us outsiders is not necessarily the case for the affected communities… it’s underreported,” he says.

When asked as to what these individual parishes are doing, Most Rev. Broderick Pabillo, Auxiliary Bishop of Manila, states that these parishes engage on the local community level, often cooperating with local government units and police officers. This cooperation, according to Pabillo, is “highly encouraged.”

He also stated that these initiatives are grassroots movements, often initiated by the parishes themselves rather than acting on a directive from their local archdiocese. Also, he outlined the different types of interventions that these parishes are implementing.

“Some parishes are on the awareness stage. In talks and homilies, they speak about the drug problem, how to avoid drugs and what to do with drug addicts. Others are on the rehabilitation stage. They cooperate with the barangays and police to rehabilitate those who have surrendered, while others try to help the families of the victims of EJK by legal and humanitarian means,” says Pabillo.

Sanlakbay and bottom-up efforts

Additionally, Pabillo also spoke about the rehabilitation efforts of the San Roque Parish, which operated under the Sanlakbay program of the Archdiocese of Manila and is completely different from the individual interventions of the local parishes.The Sanlakbay program, launched last October 23, is a restorative justice program spearheaded by institutions such as Caritas Manila’s Restorative Justice Ministry, the Center for Family Ministry, University of Santo Tomas Graduate School Psycho-Trauma Clinic, the Department of Interior and Local Government, and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

This program is the Catholic Church’s response towards the War on Drugs, placing a huge emphasis on reintegrating drug surrenderees into society. Sanlakbay aims to achieve this through a comprehensive, 12-module program that includes spiritual counseling, livelihood projects, skills formation training, and adherence to the concept of restorative justice.

The implementation of this program, according to Bro. Clifford T. Sorita in his piece for Journal Online, is to be done at the local parish level with assistance from LGUs and the aforementioned institutions.

Such program is a welcome relief to the already strained drug rehabilitation program of the government in the face of over a million drug surrenderees. The staggering amount of surrenderees has undoubtedly overwhelmed the 50 existing drug rehabilitation and treatment centers around the country.

However, despite the inclusion of independent private-sector actors, addressing the aftermath of the administration’s war on drugs remains an incredibly daunting task unless a sustained effort is made that is both supported by both the private and government sector.

Aside from this, the Redemptorist Church (known as Baclaran Church) is known for running several safe houses which shelter drug surrenderees and raising funds for families that cannot afford to bury their dead relatives who are mostly victims of the war on drugs. The church’s actions have placed it under watch by government agencies.

‘Credibility through action’

When asked why such efforts are not often brought to light in mainstream media, Cornelio states that the incendiary remarks of the president towards the Catholic Church would usually take precedence over the reportage of Church-driven interventions.

Cornelio adds that rather than just “preach about [issues] on the pulpit,” the Church must take a more active role, essentially a return to its historic roots as a community-based institution.

In his piece for Rappler, Cornelio argues that taking issues such as EJKs and the War on Drugs to the pulpit will only backfire, since people will only choose to hear what they wish to hear.

“In other words, the voice of the church can be louder if its gets its act together against both illegal drugs and drug-related killings. Catholic communities can fight back by taking care of the weak,” Cornelio writes in an article for the Union of Catholic Asian News. “Taken together, all these efforts point back to the most crucial element of democratic participation: credibility through action.”

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