Cardinal David: Death penalty not a solution to corruption
Published Sep 22, 2025 03:35 pm
Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, walks to the EDSA People Power Monument in Quezon City on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, to join a rally against corruption. (Cardinal David/Facebook)
Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David on Monday, Sept. 22, said capital punishment will not solve corruption as it largely punishes the poor while allowing the wealthy and powerful to escape accountability.
In a social media post, David said the Church understands the outrage and demand for serious accountability, but insisted that executions are not the remedy.
“Those with money can buy the best legal defense, delay trials indefinitely, or manipulate the system. The defenseless and powerless have no such protection,” David, who is also the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said.
He pointed out that history shows how laws have often been weaponized by those in power.
David cited the swift condemnation of St. John the Baptist and Jesus while the guilty walked away unpunished.
He added that the proper response to corruption is not more deaths but reforms that would strengthen the justice system, safeguard the poor, and ensure that those in power are held to account.
A day earlier, David made a similar appeal during a rally at the EDSA People Power Monument, where thousands gathered to protest alleged anomalies in the government’s flood control projects.
He urged officials and contractors implicated in corruption to come forward as witnesses, assuring them of sanctuary in the Church.
“It is not too late for them to redeem themselves if they are willing to tell the truth,” said the prelate.
Holding his bishop’s crosier, David likened it to a shepherd’s crook used to rescue lost sheep and stressed the Church’s readiness to shelter whistleblowers.
“If they need the protection of the Church, those who want to speak the truth—but only the truth—we will open our churches as a sanctuary,” he said.
But he also warned of accountability for those who continue to plunder public funds.
“Because this is a shepherd’s crook, it can also be used to strike the wild dogs and crocodiles who squander the people’s money,” he said, drawing cheers from the crowd, which chanted: “Jail the corrupt now!”
David’s remarks came amid mounting public anger over alleged corruption in flood control projects that critics say worsened the devastation of recent storms.
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have launched investigations, but church leaders and other critics have questioned Congress’ credibility, citing the involvement of some lawmakers with contractors.
President Marcos Jr. has also formed an independent body to probe irregularities in infrastructure projects.