Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas
MANILA, Philippines — Calling China “a threat,” a senior Catholic prelate has joined the clamor to outlaw Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) while also conveying Church solidarity with Filipinos resisting Chinese harassment in the West Philippine Sea.
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates “Soc” Villegas, one of the country’s most vocal religious leaders, also expressed support for ongoing investigations into suspected Chinese espionage and infiltration of the government.
“Stop Pogos! It is time to end the regime of Pogos. Whatever benefits that allow them to operate [and] may have been promised are overshadowed completely by the threat they carry with them—and in fact, the dreadful harm of their presence,” Villegas said in a pastoral letter issued in parishes under his jurisdiction over the weekend.
READ: Pogo crackdown widens; ‘250 to 300’ not licensed
“The recent raids that revealed the extent of the evil at these Pogo hubs—including incidences of human trafficking and torture and money laundering—make it a moral imperative that no longer should they granted the protection of law and that they, in fact, should be outlawed,” he added.
The archbishop was apparently referring to two recent crackdowns on illegal Pogo operations in Central Luzon, mainly in Bamban, Tarlac province, and in Porac, Pampanga province.
‘No longer imagined’
In the pastoral letter titled “Lord Save Us! We Are Perishing!,” the archbishop also accused China of plotting against the Philippines to gain more territory or undermine the latter’s government.
“The People’s Republic of China shows neither fear nor does it exhibit hesitation in inching menacingly close to the Philippines,” added Villegas, a former president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
“The threat is no longer imagined. It is no longer mere conjecture. There is evidence of insidious attempts by a foreign power that governs by an ideology that recognizes no God and keeps all religion and the practice of faith under the heavy heel of its totalitarian boot to ‘trample our sacred shores,’” he added, quoting a phrase in the English version of the Philippine national anthem.
The prelate connected the Chinese threat to “[t]he network of agent it maintains and is capable of deploying, including those involved in espionage and even subversive activity [that] will not be denied by anyone who makes it his business to keep himself abreast of disturbing news reports.”
‘On Beijing’s payroll’
Villegas also recalled recent “provocative actions” by China against Philippine Coast Guard vessels at Escoda (Sabina) Shoal, which lies within the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
“Not only are our maritime zones usurped and our fishermen evicted from their fishing grounds. Our marine environment is relentlessly wrecked as China endeavors to convert features into islands and militarized platforms,” he said.
The prelate also supported congressional investigations into possible Chinese infiltration of the government by Chinese agents.
“Even closer to home, the possibility that the government has been infiltrated by persons on Beijing’s payroll of Filipinos who have received favors in various forms from it puts the very sovereignty and independence of our country on the line,” he said.
The investigations that the Senate and the House have conducted “have made clear that due to the lackadaisical, if not criminal, conduct of many government personnel, it is not impossible for foreigners with malicious intent to acquire documentation allowing them not only entry but residence in the Philippines, perhaps even to pass themselves off as natural-born Filipino citizens and thus qualify for public office,” he added.
Moral issues
The 63-year-old prelate justified his decision to again speak about political, military and security issues, saying they also involved “profoundly moral issues.”
“It is certainly a moral issue that many (Filipino) fisherfolk have been deprived of the abundance that once allowed them at least a decent experience, and that has now forced them to rummage through the leftovers of Chinese poachers and encroachers,” he said.
Another moral issue, he said, is the need to shield a way of life that upholds the right of persons to practice their faith without any state interference, and the right of Filipinos to be shielded from “the onslaught of agents of an atheistic ideology.”
Villegas cited Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si” where the Pontiff called the attention of Catholics and humanity in general to their responsibility to defend the nature against the destructive forces of greed and arrogance.
He asked for prayers seeking a deterrence to Chinese threats, urging the faithful to wage a “rosary campaign” and fast whenever they can from June 27 to Aug. 15.
He also encouraged acts of penance and supererogation (performance beyond the call of duty) “with particularly intensity” during the period.
‘Be the heroes now’
The archbishop reminded the country’s prosecutors and court judges to uphold their oaths of office “to see the prosecution and punishment of all who have made a mockery of legal and administrative processes to enable foreign elements to prejudice our national security and our interests as a nation.”
To the “heroic and brave” uniformed personnel who patrol the country’s waters, escort fishermen and defend Philippine maritime claims and territories, Villegas said: “May you receive all the support that the government can give you and that our people are able to. Take courage. Defend our seas and people. Be the heroes now!”
He also lauded the “courageous” fishermen who joined the recent flotilla to Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) and the West Philippine Sea to assert the country’s sovereign rights in its EEZ.
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“I call on every Filipino, particularly those in the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan, to stand proud and tall and not to cower in fear lest our sacred rights be trampled on,” he said.
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