Filipino bishop calls for stronger transparency in Church’s social action efforts

A Filipino bishop underlined the importance of transparency when it comes to executing social action initiatives and projects in the Church.

In an interview with Radio Veritas Asia, Kidapawan Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo said that full transparency of the Church’s expenditures can help dispel criticisms claiming it only exploits the poor and the needy for profit and selfish goals.

“The very issue here is on transparency…” he said. “The most important thing is transparency for everyone to know: ‘Where does the money go?’”

Bishop Bagaforo also serves as the chairman of the Episcopal Commission and Social Action and Justice and Peace of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and head of its social welfare arm Caritas Philippines.

Given these responsibilities, the prelate stated that proper social action transparency contributes to drawing in more donors to the Church.

“There are people who can afford [to help], and they just do not know how to help,” he explained. “When they would like to help, they would like that the little thing that they [give] would really go to those that they wanted to help.”

Bishop Bagaforo also emphasized the Church’s role as an intermediary in bringing people and resources together and allocating them to underserved sectors that urgently need them.

“Sometimes, [donors] think that they only have $100, and if they help the poor, they know it's nothing… But if they pull all that help [together], it can [become a] big assistance.”

In line with this, the bishop said that the CBCP-Episcopal Commission and Social Action and Justice and Peace has decided to expand its flagship program Alay Kapwa to encourage more people to provide monetary assistance to the Church.

The bishop said that the program, which was initially a Lenten initiative, has now evolved into a year-round endeavor while maintaining its three primary components of resource mobilization, formation, and program assistance.

“The very core program of Caritas Philippines is Alay Kapwa, to be able to help others, extend our hands to others, and share our resources [with] others,” he said.