Force for change
The figures show that the majority of the population, by religious affiliation, are supposed to adhere to the 10 Commandments and the Holy Bible.
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The figures show that the majority of the population, by religious affiliation, are supposed to adhere to the 10 Commandments and the Holy Bible.
The country has been experiencing monsoon rains since last week, which have caused flooding, suffering, economic hardship and even fatalities. While climate change has been tagged as one of the primary reasons for the increasingly severe weather events, there is the legitimate question of where all the public funds that were appropriated for flood control, drainage, and environmental conservation actually went.
Simultaneously, the current impeachment trial has brought up allegations regarding how the people’s money was actually spent.
These developments have once again placed corruption and public governance at the center of national attention.
The results of a recent Pulse Asia survey placed inflation as the primary concern of Filipinos, followed by corruption and the increase of workers’ pay. In Metro Manila and among respondents of socioeconomic class ABC nationwide, corruption was on top of the list.
Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2025, which measures how experts and business people perceive corruption in the public sector of a particular nation, ranked the Philippines 120th out of 182 countries. The scoring starts from 0 (very corrupt) to 100 (very clean). The global average is 42.
Of the 11 ASEAN nations, the Philippines ranked ninth least corrupt. Singapore was the least corrupt with a score of 84; Brunei got 63, Malaysia 52, Timor-Leste 44, Vietnam 41, Indonesia 34, Laos 34, and Thailand 33. Our score of 32 was only better than Cambodia at 20 and Myanmar at 16.
This is all truly very sad. The Philippines is the most predominantly Catholic country not only in ASEAN, but in Asia as a whole. It is supposed to be one of the three nations with the largest Catholic populations in the world, next only to Brazil and Mexico.
Philippine Statistics Authority figures from the 2020 Census of Population and Housing show that 78.8 percent of the population reported their religious affiliation as Roman Catholic, 6.4 percent as Islam, and 2.6 percent as Iglesia ni Cristo, The Seventh Day Adventists, Aglipay, Iglesia Filipina Independiente, Bible Baptist Church, United Church of Christ in the Philippines, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Church of Christ totaled 3.9 percent. Other religious affiliations were 8.2 percent. The remaining 0.1 percent was “none” or “not reported.”
The figures show that the majority of the population, by religious affiliation, are supposed to adhere to the 10 Commandments and the Holy Bible. Therefore, theoretically, if there is a strengthening of the faith that will bring up adherence to the commandments and the teachings of the Lord, then corruption should not be a problem. All religions in the Philippines condemn stealing.
Given these factors, the strongest force for change in governance and in society can be brought about by the good religious leaders and their committed members who see that what is currently happening is not in accordance with the laws of man and God.
We have seen the Catholic Church’s role in helping bring about change that led to EDSA 1 in 1986.
However, precisely from the lessons of the past, we can see that it is not enough to preach. What is wrong must be actively condemned and opposed. There must be punishment for the guilty and restitution of the funds stolen.
Evangelization and strengthening of the faith must be constant, to ensure that evil, which does not sleep, will never triumph.
