Failure of religion

By Herbert Vego

TODAY we celebrate the 505th anniversary of the “discovery” of the Philippines by Ferdinand Magellan on March 16, 1521. To quote novelty singer Yoyoy Villame, “And that’s the beginning of our Catholic life.”

Indeed, ours is the only predominantly Christian nation in Asia (approximately 90%), of which over 80% are Roman Catholic.

If all Christians were to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, as in loving our neighbors as ourselves, we would need only a few hundred policemen to catch thieves, killers and other criminal elements, since there would be very few of them.

Unfortunately, reality reflects a different scenario. We like to listen to sermons that we don’t follow. No less than the highest officials of this country go to church. And yet they are now perceived as the biggest thieves and robbers, or coddlers of criminal elements. To put it bluntly, religion has miserably failed to reform Philippine society.

A thousand and one Christian sects have literally germinated in the Philippines. A few of them invade the political landscape by endorsing common political candidates. Never mind if the endorsed ones are notoriously corrupt.

We can’t help but question the tendency of religious leaders to preach one thing but do another. We have seen them tell us not to amass treasures on earth but they themselves amass wealth from our “love offerings” and tithes.

A classic example is Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC). A supporter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, he remains detained at the Pasig City Jail over non-bailable sexual abuses and human trafficking charges.

Senator Joel Villanueva, who is also a pastor of the Jesus is Lord (JIL) church, is one of the politicians implicated in the massive corruption scandal involving flood-control projects.

There have been news reports about ministers of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) leaving the church in disgust over a family feud among the descendants of its founder, the late Felix Manalo. A recent TV newscast showed one of them who had refused to read in church services a circular lambasting Cristina “Tenny” Villanueva Manalo and Nathaniel “Angel” Manalo, who had been expelled over alleged corruption within the church hierarchy. Very ironically, the two are the mother and a brother, respectively, of current INC Executive Minister Eduardo Manalo.

This is not to indict Christianity in general. The other religions have their share of beliefs that undermine their legitimacy. History is replete with “religious wars” among nations pitting Jews and/or Christians against Muslims.

Christians themselves quarrel over conflicting doctrines. For example, while the majority of Christian sects embrace Jesus Christ as God manifest in flesh, the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) “brothers” think of him as mere mediator between God and men.

Catholics venerate graven images but Protestants think it’s a violation of the First Commandment — “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”

The more we listen to preachers, the more we wonder who among them they are the false prophets that Jesus warned us against (Matthew 7:15-20).

-oOo-

MORE POWER’S SUCCESS STORY

“Our first five years is a success story.”

This was how Roel Z. Castro, president of MORE Power, called the first five years of operation of the distribution utility in Iloilo City during an interview by Angel Tan, host of the radio-video program “MORE Power at Your Service”.

This corner agrees. It’s marvelous that in its first five years of operation from 2020 to 2025, MORE Power has leapfrogged from 62,000 to 105,000 customers.

In recognition of the rise of the business sector, Sir Roel said, the company is now in the process of installing “an advance distribution system” as demanded by expansion of its coverage areas from Iloilo City to Passi City and 15 towns of Iloilo province.

There are now four business establishments in Pavia that have shifted from ILECO 1 to MORE Power. Around 20 others will be added soon.

Castro also announced the availability of a net metering system for homes and commercial buildings.

Net metering is a subsidy mechanism that allows electricity consumers with rooftop solar panels to export excess power to the grid in exchange for bill credits, thus reducing dependence on grid power and lowering monthly electricity bills.