The Pork Barrel Scam, It's Not Worth It - Jesus

𝐀𝐔𝐆. 𝟐𝟓, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝟏 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝟏:𝟏-𝟓, 𝟖-𝟏𝟎

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟏𝟒𝟗: 𝟏-𝟔, 𝟗 “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞.” 𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓 𝟐𝟑:𝟏𝟑-𝟐𝟐

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: “𝑾𝒐𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔…” (𝒗.16) 

         Sometime in July 2013 after news reports began circulating that the government was defrauded of some P10-billion related to how the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or what was commonly referred to as Pork Barrel Funds were misused, thousands of Filipinos marched in protest at the Luneta Grandstand.

         Billed as a million people march, the event, however, generated between 100,000 to 200,000 who demanded among other things – the scrapping of the pork barrel system, an accounting of all misused funds and, to investigate and punish all those involved in the fund misuse. The Supreme Court later ruled that the PDAF was unconstitutional and this decision effectively ended the traditional pork barrel system.

         I began this reflection by looking back at the P10-billion scam that sent the principal player in the pork barrel scam Janet Napoles to serve a prison term by the Sandiganbayan 10 years later in 2023 because the Napoles case looks paltry compared to the level of anomalous transactions that may yet reach trillions of pesos in misused funds when the investigation is finally completed.

          These anomalies also remind us of the untypical Jesus who seem to be venting his anger at the religious leaders in today’s Gospel passage in 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟐𝟑:𝟏𝟑-𝟐𝟐 who is the exact opposite of the meek and humble of heart that his disciples are familiar with. But there’s a reason for it. As time for his willed passion, death and resurrection near, time is indeed short and there’s still so much to do.

         While Jesus prior to this encounter may have criticized and or debated with the Scribes and the Pharisees, this was the first time that he used very strong words to unmask the attitude of the religious leaders whom he accused of setting up rules that block their view of God.

         The mass protest against the PDAF in 2013 and the unmasking of the P585-Billion flood-control projects some of which are non-existent while most are sub-standard were examples of how morality has reached a new low because the problem of graft and corruption lies not only in the disbursement of the pork barrel funds allocated to legislators but more of a problem of morality that stems from the low level of spirituality of the only Christian nation in Asia.

         This situation I believe was caused by the declining influence of religious instruction especially to the youth and it was possible that those involved in the large scale misuse and plunder of government funds  channeled through the pork barrel system were either not properly instructed on the foundations of the Christian faith or did not understand anything about the difference between the natural law and the moral law.

          And if this was the case, we probably must also look into how such catechetical instructions are given to our youth and to our people in general. In the same way that there are priests who cannot deliver a good homily that people leave after the Mass without anything they could carry in terms of spiritual lessons, it is possible that those delegated to provide these religious instructions may have come up short. In other words, those who were tasked to give catechetical instructions failed in their goal to introduce Jesus to their listeners.

         The use of the word hypocrite reveals the sentiments of Jesus against the Pharisees as the Greek language point uses the word hypocrite to a person who acts a part, someone who wears a mask to cover his true feelings and or, one who puts on an external attitude that differs from his inner thoughts and feelings.

         In other words, Jesus had unmasked the Pharisees as pretenders who have imposed stringent rules and practices that made it difficult for the people to know God. In short, Jesus exposed the Pharisees for substituting their own set of ideas for the truth that comes from God.

         What Jesus was also pointing out in this Gospel is that a religion that focuses on deeds will put pressure on people to surpass others in what they know and do. It follows that a hypocritical teacher will most likely produce students who will become even more critical and what Jesus said remains valid some 2,000 years later because not so much has changed from that day till now.

         Thus, in a Church or Community where new members are placed under the supervision and guidance of shepherds, coordinators and or, circle heads we must make sure that we are not creating Pharisees out of these new members by putting more emphasis on the set of rules, policies and statutes that every religious organization has.

         We in the Bukas Loob sa Diyos Covenant Community have our own set of policies that govern our community which is referred to as the BLD Statutes. This includes not only the policy on governance but also the Community Values, Norms and Culture.

         This is where the danger lurks, and this Gospel should serve as a reminder for all of us to distinguish the path that we are treading because there is the possibility we may be leading the new members to an outward display of obedience instead of leading them to a transformative change of heart or what we charismatics call ‘𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒊𝒂.’

          It presupposes that leaders of religious organizations such as the BLD in whatever ministry or apostolate they are in should have been evangelized first before they can evangelize.

         The greatest danger in evangelization is when preachers and leaders are more concerned in bringing people to a Church and or Community as an institution than to Jesus with whom the Church and or Community should be in communion with.

         To put order in a church or community setting, there is definitely a need for policies to be in place but these set of rules, policies and statutes should lead members into a realization of his person in relation to the image to which he has been created which means that insofar as we have all been created in the image and likeness of God, the primacy in the exercise of our religion should be to worship God and to do His Will.

         Christians today and that includes us who have been baptized in the church are caught up with the mundane concerns of the social and political environment that we live in and this is the greatest challenge for us – that is to find God amidst the profanities that pervade in the world around us.

         Our faith has been attacked by ungodly forces. The RH Law has been passed and renamed into the Responsible Parenthood Bill in an apparent reference that those who will oppose it are not responsible parents. In the United States, the legalization of abortion and same-sex marriage has altered the plan of God and this, for all intents and purposes, could be one of the factors for the economic recession now being experienced.

         There was even a time a blasphemous poster by an pseudo-artist who admitted to be an atheist was exhibited at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. The only Christian nation in Asia is listed as among the most corrupt country in the world. Many religious leaders’ hunger for more power, money and status with some even dipping their hands in the political sector either as candidates to elective positions or to use their organizations to influence the outcome of the political exercise.

         Now the question is who and what are we? What is our understanding of the church and community to which we belong and to which we were brought into by Our God? Is the community a social organization highlighted by external and outward display of charity? Or is it a venue for us to attain an inner renewal that will make it possible for us to see, to know and to worship God.

         The 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡 𝟐𝟐𝟎𝟖 states that: “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘬, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱. 𝘐𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴: "𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴: 𝘵𝘰 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥."        

         And 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡 𝟓𝟖𝟑 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡, an encyclical of Blessed John Paul II also says: “𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴. 𝘐𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵. 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨: ‘𝘞𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵' (𝘓𝘬 17:33)”[1231]. 𝘕𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.”        

         If only our legislators and other government officials involved in this pork barrel scam received the proper religious instruction, they would have realized that public service is all about love not only for the self but more so love for God and others. And a life without Jesus is not worth the risk. Brothers and Sisters, the choice is yours! (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘈𝘶𝘨. 25, 2025)