CIBAC Representative House Deputy Speaker Bro. Eddie Villanueva said the issues of extrajudicial killings, corruption and teenage pregnancies among others are the off-shoot of the government disregard of “Biblical prescriptions,” renewing calls on policymakers to align policies with Biblical principles to achieve progress.
“Let us observe the National Bible Day with relevance and significance, not only with lip service and ceremonial rhetoric. We are experiencing a lot of social, political and economic problems because we deviated from upholding Biblical principles in the crafting and execution of our policies. Today, I admonish everyone to start looking at the Bible not only as a religious piece but also as a government manual – the indispensability of which cannot be overlooked in steering this country towards progress and, possibly, greatness,” said Villanueva.
The CIBAC lawmaker zeroes in on the rampant killings in connection with the government’s war against illegal drugs saying the Bible condemns murder and injustices and warns it will open doors of judgment for the country if not rectified.
“No human life is more important than the other. Except for cases provided by law, taking of human life is punishable. The Bible cannot be any clearer. Matthew 5:21 says ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment,’” said Villanueva.
“To remain silent is to be an accomplice to the abuses of men in power and scalawags in uniform who taint the good intention of the President to eliminate illegal drugs in our society. Worst of all, it means allowing these evil men to invite judgments not only for their lives but to all of us as a nation. So, once and for all, let us put to rest doubts about our justice system, our inability to persecute bad eggs in all drug enforcement institutions, and maintain the respect of the community of nations,” he said.
Data from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) indicated there were 5,552 death tolls from 2016 to 2019 in the crackdown against drugs – though international human rights organizations’ count is much higher.
Deputy Speaker Villanueva also lamented in his speech the state of corruption in the country as the Philippines ranked 113th out of 180 countries in the 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index, a drop of 14 notches from its 2018 level.
“The statement ‘moderate your greed’ seems to be gaining ground as a silent norm in the government. But this is against the law of God! The Bible does not only say ‘moderate your greed,’ it explicitly tells us in Colossians 3:5-6 to eliminate greed or covetousness, for the people practicing such will surely invite the wrath of God.
“What is unfortunate is that curses do not only fall to the corrupt people, but also to the innocent ones. We can see this in the around 22 million Filipinos who live below the poverty threshold (or below 10,481 pesos for a family of 5) as per 2018 Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data. This is a confirmation of what is written in the Bible: ‘When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked bears rule, the people mourn (Proverbs 29:2).”
The CIBAC lawmaker urged the passing of anti-corruption measures, like the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill, that will put on check the monopoly and discretion of power among decision makers and will uphold transparency and accountability particularly in implementing government contracts.
The CIBAC solon also brought to the fore the looming threats of the increasing number of teenage pregnancies in the country, which some top policymakers have already described as a national emergency.
“For example, we all labor to address the alarming situation of teenage pregnancies in all ways we can, yes, but this would not have happened in the first place if we put it our foremost policy to teach and promote among our youth the importance of sexual purity. Call me conservative if you must, but the Bible says: Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral (Hebrews 13:4),” according to Villanueva