Bishops Expect Pnoy to Talk Graft, Pork, Economic Growth in SONA

Catholic bishops want to hear President Aquino tackle his administration’s actions on economic growth and graft.

As they join Filipinos in listening to President Benigno Aquino’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, the bishops said they want to learn what Aquino will do to curb corruption stemming from lawmakers’ pork barrel funds, Gma news online reported.

President Aquino has so far kept mum on what he will discuss in his SONA.

Digos Bishop Guilermo Afable said, in a letter to Pnoy published in Catholic Bishops Conference of the Phils. (CBCP) news site, that he expects to hear Pnoy talk about the pork barrel anomaly : “I hope to hear from you on this, on your next SONA,” Digos Bishop Guillermo Afable said.

Afable was referring to an alleged P10-billion scam involving the pork of lawmakers supposedly going to dummy non-government organizations.

Afable has urged Aquino to use his political influence to end the “despicable” practice, saying the Filipino people “deserve better than this” Gma news on line said.

“It’s about time you come out clean with this and put an end to this shameful practice,” he said in the same letter to Aquino.

“I know you and your Cabinet will find a more creative, but just and ethical way of bringing the government closer to the people,” Afable added.

For his part, Cubao Bishop Honesto Ongtioco said poor Filipinos have yet to feel the economic growth the government claimed to have accomplished.

Source: gma news tv, gma news online