MANILA, February 11, 2008—The Catholic bishops’ leadership has called on for ‘communal action’ following Rodolfo Lozada’s expose on alleged corruption involving top public officials.

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines president Archbishop Angel Lagdameo said it’s about time to liberate the country that has long been ‘captive’ to government corruption.

Lagdameo said the “confession” recently made Lozada and ousted House speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. may save people from being “hostage to scandalous and shady government deals.”

“Only the truth, not lies and deceits, will set our country free. This truth challenges us now to communal action,” he said.

Lagdameo said Lozada and De Venecia’s act may yet called “courageous” in exposing government anomalies they knew and “somehow they have been involved in.”

He said it could be detrimental to their political career but still the truth must be pursued.

“Truth hurts. But the truth must be served. The truth will set our country free,” he stressed.

He renewed an earlier call of the CBCP lamenting the "absence of social conscience today" which he said was "the root cause of our systemic graft and corruption."

“We have to confess that corruption is in truth our greatest shame as a people,” said Lagdameo.

The CBCP head backed the “Crusade for Truth” movement of the influential Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP), civil society groups and clergy.

He also endorsed an initiative “Watch and Pray” by the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, adding that the flame of “social consciousness and common good” must be kept alive.

“As we said in our last CBCP Statement ‘let us pray together, reason together, decide together, act together’ towards a more vigorous work for good governance and a more active promotion of responsible citizenship in our society in the light of the Gospel and the Social Teachings of the Church,” he added. (RL)