Almost 2,000 flood victims marched through the murky roads of Macabebe and Masantol towns on Thursday, bearing mock-up coffins, placards, and streamers demanding an end to corruption in flood-control projects.
Protesters from the boundary arch of Masantol and those from San Gabriel Chapel in Macabebe merged at the San Nicolas de Tolentino Parish, also in Macabebe, for a holy Mass concelebrated by 11 priests from the Vicariate of the Blessed Trinity. In solidarity, several priests born or raised in Macabebe joined the sacrament.
Fr. Ariel Limjoco said corruption begins at home when children are paid to do tasks for the family or when they are prompted to enrich themselves instead of being encouraged to help and serve people.
The corrupt, he added, experienced hell on earth, citing the Discaya couple who are being pelted and shamed in public or hide themselves.
Limjoco echoed the calls of the vicariate to ‘return the stolen public funds.’
The vicariate also called for long-term flooding solutions to protect the people from disaster.
In the program dubbed Singsong People’s Rally (Lament of the People’s Rally), Marilou Melo of San Rafael Parish in Macabebe pointed out that children suffer in many ways. She said they have lost their playgrounds or have little interest in their studies as classrooms are used as evacuation centers or classes are suspended because of floods in the towns that last for months.
Dr. Ma. Liezl Alcoy of the San Miguel Arkanghel Parish in Masantol said the flood levels have reached the first floor of homes, endangering senior citizens by slipping, increasing the cost of transportation, and entailing a longer time to deal with health emergencies.
Like them, other speakers did not specify projects, but social media posts decry the six-year delay of the Pampanga Delta River bridge project, which connects Masantol’s left bank, where some 10,000 families were displaced when the mouth of the river was widened from 250 meters to 750 meters since 1992. Touted to be a priority project of Rep. Anna York Bondoc, the unfinished bridge received nearly P700 million.
In the same program, the Archdiocesan Council of the Laity (ACL) of the Archdiocese of San Fernando ‘strongly denounces the greed, selfishness, and corruption of our key leaders and their cohorts,’ said Renato Galang, ACP president, reading from a statement.
Signed by leaders of 24 lay organizations, the council urged ‘every Kapampangan to be courageous: to stand for the Truth, to live our faoith in action, and to demand integrity and accountability in governance