The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said the electorate must treat local officials as principled leaders to lead them and not as traditional politicians. CBCP president Bishop Virgilio David said the public should not expect anything from local officials for them to be good leaders. ‘If we want good principled politics, please don’t expect that of your politicians that they will give money or give favors but to expect them to be good leaders, to exercise good leadership, good governance in a country,’ he said in an interview Wednesday. ‘In a way, it’s also our fault as a people because of the expectations that we set on politicians. People look at their politicians, not as leaders, but as patrons,’ the Caloocan prelate added. David, meanwhile, noted that all politicians are corrupt. ‘I have met a lot of good-hearted and a good-hearted politician…we have proven that there are some leaders who are not that kind of politicians, they won and are able to deliver the goods and set a good example in leadership and governance,’ David said. ‘We are not hopeless in this country, you know, please don’t mistake me for saying that all politicians are dirty, they’re not,’ he added. The CBCP head is also hoping that good politicians will form a group of Catholic politicians. ‘There are many good politicians out there and we can only wish that they can sort of come up with association of Catholic politicians, like Catholic politicians guild who are undergoing formation on the social teachings of the church, about social justice, the common good, about human dignity, so that they can make a difference in society,’ he said. The country is set to hold the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections on Oct. 30 in more than 42,000 barangays. Regular voters will elect one barangay chairman and seven barangay council members while youth voters will be electing one SK chairperson and seven SK members.

Source: Philippines News Agency