The controversies surrounding poverty can be viewed positively, as they can help raise awareness on the issue amid the alleged corruption in the country, a communication director said on Sunday.
Jack Valero, founder of UK-based communication project Catholic Voices, underscored the “disparity” between the rich and the poor that the Philippines, like other countries, needs to address.
“I think that’s really positive that the fact that there is a controversy has led to more conversations, because ultimately, we must become more aware of the problems of poverty in our own house, in our own backyard, and the suffering that involves it and be conscious of it,” Valero told GMA News Online in an interview.
“One thing that is always clear in the end is that if there are problems, it’s always the poor who suffer. So this corruption is not affecting everybody equally. It’s always affecting the poor in a much greater way,” Valero said, using the effects of recent storms as an example.
The recent Typhoon Opong left at least 57,000 individuals affected and 1,652 classrooms damaged in Masbate, which was placed under a state of calamity.
Despite over P6 billion worth of flood control projects in their area, residents of the flood-prone municipality of Naujan, Oriental Mindoro expressed their concerns as Severe Tropical Storm Opong hit the province.
Earlier, Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon said losses from anomalous flood control projects could reach up to trillions of pesos.
A continuous problem
Earlier this month, Pope Leo XIV released his first Apostolic Exhortation, “Dilexi Te” (I have loved you), which focuses primarily on the needs of the poor.
Despite previous documents on poverty, Valero said the release of Dilexi Te is necessary to keep talking about the issue.
“We have only taken partial attention to the topic. And so the Pope thinks it’s very important to come back to this topic again so that people can hear it and can realize how important it is to the Church,” said Valero, who is also a press officer for Opus Dei, a personal prelature of the Catholic Church, in Britain.
“And I think that’s right, isn’t it, that the Church is constantly reminding us of the key points,” he added.
In Dilexi Te, Pope Leo XIV warned against the “growth of a wealthy elite, living in a bubble of comfort and luxury,” and a culture “that discards others without even realizing it.”
The Vatican said the document was first started by Pope Francis, who died in April after 12 years as leader of the Catholic Church, although it did not disclose who wrote what.
Campaign for the truth
Valero urged the public to “campaign for the truth” amid the spread of disinformation relating to recent issues, such as corruption, on social media.
“I think we have a special task. Catholics are interested in the truth, so we should campaign for the truth to be told,” Valero said.
“We should all be trying to get our news from places where they are reliable,” he added.
Meanwhile, he called on journalists to take the vocation of “telling the truth” seriously.
“For journalists who are Catholic, they should take this mission very seriously. It’s almost our vocation to tell the truth in this age of disinformation,” Valero said.
Valero visited the Philippines to deliver a talk about how parents and teachers can communicate effectively to uphold Christian values and integrity amid corruption.
With Catholic Voices, laypeople are trained to speak in public about controversies related to the Catholic Church. — JMA, GMA Integrated News
