CBCP vice president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said Filipinos cannot afford to become indifferent to the issue.
Archbishop Villegas was quoted on the CBCP news site as saying, “(It) continues to (baffle) and hurt us every time we discover something new about it. The hurt that it causes us should (lead us) into action. We should not just allow the hurt to lessen with the passage of time."
“I think it is called for greater action. It cannot be repeated,” he added, though he did not elaborate on what specific actions Filipinos must take.
He stressed Filipinos must act to prevent another repeat of similar cases of corruption in the future. Many groups had expressed outrage over the use of the pork barrel scam by several lawmakers, including those who have had dealings with trader Janet Napoles.
Napoles is now at large after a Makati court issued a warrant for her and her brother's arrest, and has so far eluded authorities.
Meanwhile, a public event on social media have been circulating asking netizens to take action against the pork barrel scam.
On social networking site, Facebook, an event was gathering one million participants to join a protest rally on August 26, Monday, at the Rizal Park. The event titled, "Million March to Luneta August 26: Sa Araw ng mga Bayani, Protesta ng Bayan" coincides with the celebration of National Heroes Day.
As of 10:22 a.m. Sunday, it has a total of 31,845 invitees, wherein more than 3,000 have already confirmed their attendance.
"We, the taxpayers, want the pork barrel scrapped, the senators and congressmen in the pork barrel fund scam investigated and charged accordingly, with full media coverage for the people to see," wrote the organizer of the Facebook event.
It also urged netizens to post a status message saying, "I pay my taxes, on-time & in-full. YOU, my government, owe me a full explanation."
