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MANILA, Philippines – Leaders from various Philippine religious groups have launched a joint campaign for impartial justice, defying accusations that church leaders have targeted Vice President Sara Duterte while sparing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Convened by a prominent Catholic bishop alongside civil society groups, the Interreligious Leaders’ Council for National Transformation recently formed the White Ribbon Movement. On Sunday, the group made headlines by launching its first major initiative: the White Ribbon March.
The White Ribbon March drew about 3,500 protesters along EDSA, Metro Manila’s longest highway, with the endorsement of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
The venue was significant because it was the site of the 1986 uprising that ousted the dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, the incumbent president’s father, with the help of the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin.
During Sunday’s protest, the White Ribbon Movement emphasized the need to hold corrupt politicians accountable regardless of political color. They chose white to symbolize their “colorless” goal and a clean conscience.
A 72-year-old Catholic bishop, Jose Colin Bagaforo of the southern Philippine diocese of Kidapawan, launched the White Ribbon Movement alongside Protestant, Evangelical, and Muslim leaders.
At the White Ribbon March, Bagaforo said that no one should be considered “VIPs” before the law, even if they are allies or relatives of people in power.
“The law must be enforced upon everyone because true justice does not choose sides,” said Bagaforo, who also chairs the interreligious dialogue commission of the bishops’ conference,
“No matter the position, no matter the name, no matter the party, all who are corrupt must be held accountable. All who are corrupt must be jailed!” the bishop said.
The White Ribbon Movement emerged amid increasing political polarization in the Philippines, the largest Catholic-majority nation in Asia, which has been ruled by political dynasties for decades.
The nation is divided by a clash between two heirs to political dynasties: Marcos, 68, and Duterte, the 48-year-old daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
Catholic leaders have long criticized the Marcos and Duterte families for corruption and murder, but the Marcos-Duterte rift has placed the clergy in a delicate situation.
Marcos and Duterte were former allies who fell out over political rivalry. Both of them have been implicated in corruption scandals — Marcos in the alleged billion-peso plunder of flood control projects, and Duterte in the alleged plunder of millions of pesos in public funds.
Both their fathers have also been accused of corruption and murder. The 81-year-old Duterte patriarch, in fact, is currently held at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, following his historic arrest in Manila last year over a drug war that allegedly killed about 30,000 Filipinos.
However, the Duterte family is seen as more antagonistic toward the Catholic Church.
During his presidency, the elder Duterte openly threatened to behead bishops who engage in the drug trade, called the late Pope Francis a “son of a bitch,” and said God is “stupid.” He also said that the “hypocritical” Catholic Church will “disappear” in almost 25 years.
Because of the former president’s attacks against the Church, many clergymen have considered Marcos a “lesser evil” compared to Duterte. For them, the priority is to prevent her from succeeding Marcos, even as she leads popularity surveys ahead of the 2028 presidential election.
But for participants in the White Ribbon March, the priority is to uphold justice, no matter the cost.
Sister Evangeline Anastacio SPC, president of Saint Paul University Manila, said she joined the rally “to join this fight against corruption” and to promote integrity and honesty. “It is part of our Christian responsibility to fight for what is right,” Anastacio told Crux Now during the rally.
Sister Flor Deza SPC, who attended the rally along with their university president, called for accountability in the corruption scandals involving the country’s two highest leaders. She called the Marcos-linked flood control scandal “a terrible thievery,” and said that Duterte should “be accountable” and that she should “let the court decide.”
Speaking to Crux Now, Deza emphasized the need for religious women like her to join protests such as the White Ribbon March. “We are citizens as well,” the Saint Paul sister said.
