MANILA (UCAN): With Manila under strict lockdown until August 20, Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan, urged the Philippine government to distribute promised financial aid “as quick as possible” to alleviate hunger among thousands of poor families hit hard by Covid-19 coronavirus [SARS-CoV-2] restrictions.
“They need it badly,” he said in a Facebook post on August 8.
Under enhanced community quarantine, all non-essential businesses are closed in a bid to curb the spread of the virus, particularly the highly contagious Delta variant. Companies have been forced to retrench thousands of employees working in malls and other establishments.
When the Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, issued the enhanced community quarantine order, he claimed he had allotted millions of pesos in cash aid for Manila’s poorest of the poor.
Bishop David, who was recently elected as the next president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, also renewed an appeal for Catholics to give food to the hungry.
“If you have an extra kilo of rice, please share it with those who have none,” the bishop said.
“Now that we are under [strict] lockdowns, the poor have become hungrier, especially those who are daily wage earners who live a hand-to-mouth existence … without jobs they can’t feed their children,” Bishop David said.
The bishop also said 30 churches in his diocese have been turned into vaccination centres as part of efforts to speed up distribution of vaccines.
“We were asked to open Catholic churches as vaccination centers during the two-week lockdown to help speed up vaccination in Manila. We responded,” Bishop David said.
As we celebrate the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. The Chaplaincy to Filipino Migrants organises an on-line talk every Tuesday at 9.00pm. You can join us at:
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Catholic bishops suspended religious gatherings and Masses from July 31 to August 20 to comply with health protocols [Sunday Examiner, August 8]. The suspension allows for the use of Catholic churches as vaccination hubs or centers to gather relief goods, he said.
“Distribution of financial aid is not enough. Financial aid should go hand in hand with vaccinations. Vaccines and food. This is the formula,” Bishop David stressed.
