Bishop Virgilio David, the president of the erstwhile influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (why erstwhile I will explain later), is alarmed by how, he says, the political landscape is being shaped by disinformation and fake news on social media. It is the moral obligation of every Christian to uphold the truth, he said.
Words like these coming from our bishops make me both sad and sick in the stomach. Because they forever remain unmatched by deeds. I wish David had matched the words he said before the online grand national breakfast of the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals with action meant to give truth the respect it deserves.
For example, David cited the surveys on voter preferences for president and vice president the results of which he found "extremely disturbing." As president of the CBCP, David is supposed to be a responsible man. If David has any issue with the survey results, a man of his stature and position can very easily verify such results, at least have them explained.
All of the surveys that have come out so far have come out not only on social media but in mainstream media as well. And the surveys were not anonymously undertaken. The names of the survey organizations have all been duly published with the surveys clearly identified as commissioned or uncommissioned.
But David just rattled off harsh words of doubt, suspicion, and misgivings without even lifting a pinky finger to verify the accuracy of his dirty thoughts. It is clear David had no intention of discerning and protecting the truth. Because to David the truth is inconvenient. It is far easier to assail it as a lie. In his breakfast talk, David cited Goebbels' famous quote about repeating a lie a thousand times to make it the truth. Well, look who's talking.
And what is the truth that David finds inconvenient not just in social media and mainstream media but at dinner tables, street corner conversations, and for all intents and purposes the entire length and breadth of this nation? The truth that David finds inconvenient and would rather brand as a lie is that if elections were held today, Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte would win by a mile against everyone combined.
Here is a question for Bishop David, which I hope he can answer truthfully before God: If Leni Robredo and Kiko Pangilinan had been the ones topping the surveys and not BBM and Sara, would he have cast aspersions on the results, finding them "extremely disturbing" and a disinformation, even fake news? Another question. Didn't he find it a bit blasphemous to depict Leni in an artwork standing beside Jesus talking to the multitude?
The problem with David and other bishops of similar disposition is that they not only play too much politics but arrogant politics. They think they are the only ones who are right and right all the time and thus would want to impose such self-righteousness on the rest of us. On matters of faith, okay, bishops and priests deserve respect for their authority and expertise. But politics is already within the realm of Caesar. It is not where they should be.
I mentioned the word erstwhile at the beginning of this column to describe the CBCP's influence. It is no longer influential because no less than God has put it in its proper place. In 2021, the bishops wanted to rewrite history for their own interests by declaring it as the 5th Centennial of Christianity in the country even if the real 5th centennial is yet to be in 2065. Displeased, God scuttled the bishops' grand celebration with an unseen virus.