Cardinal Tagle Condemns Worsening Government Corruption

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle strongly denounced the worsening corruption in government, citing recent revelations of irregularities in flood control projects and budget insertions that he said are “destroying humanity.”

In a televised interview, Tagle emphasized that public officials must remember their duty as caretakers of God’s creation, not act as if they were gods themselves.

“Please, you are human beings. You are created in God’s image. Can you please look at yourself and with humility, I am not God. I should not pretend to be God. I am a creature like many other creatures. And so my responsibility is to take care of what God has given to us for the good of all,” Tagle said.

The cardinal expressed alarm over the scale of corruption, saying the Catholic Church is deeply disturbed by the loss of moral consciousness in society.“This is the thing that disturbs us… Is there still a sense of humanity, a sense of sin? ’Cause if you lose your humanity, you will also lose your sense of sin,” he explained.

Tagle also lamented the repeating cycle of corruption in the Philippines and encouraged citizens to be creative in expressing opposition while supporting concrete measures for reform.

His statement comes amid mounting public outrage over alleged misuse of public funds, which has triggered calls for accountability and systemic change in government.