Bishop Pablo Virgilio David urged Filipinos to pick servant leaders rather than monarchs and bosses.
Filipinos need to vote for candidates who demonstrate a spirit of service and humility rather than those who behave like bosses and kings, said Kalookan Bishop David, who is also the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), in his homily on Maundy Thursday, April 14.
He related the account of Jesus washing the disciples' feet, which is central to the Last Supper Mass. It is the narrative of a leader (Jesus) who showed humility and an earnest desire to serve by washing his followers' feet.
Bishop David believes that this kind of leadership should aim for all candidates running for office in May's general elections.
According to Bishop David, the nature of a servant-leader is not someone who is acted upon, as gods and kings do in their fight for power.
He said that such leaders' personalities might be "drunk and insane for power" when they are in positions of authority.
This sort of leader is "the type that the devil plays." They become new breeds of enslaved people, seduced by power.
Bishop David described this kind of leadership paradigm as a sickness.
Therefore, the CBCP President urged all Filipinos to exercise caution in electing leaders in local and national elections.
He appealed to all Catholics before the election to ensure they made the correct choices and asked the appropriate questions.
“Which of the chosen will behave like the boss and behave like the servant who is not embarrassed to wash his feet?” the bishop said.
The Philippines takes pride in being one of Asia's Christian countries. Over 86% of the population is Roman Catholic, 6% are members of different nationalistic Christian cults, and 2% are members of one of the more than 100 Protestant denominations.
The Philippine presidential and vice-presidential and local elections are set for Monday, May 9, 2022, as part of the general election.
Earlier, the CBCP head said that the most important thing for leaders to have is a desire to serve their people and their country.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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