CBCP to flock: White clothes, ribbons for PH renewal amid disasters, gov't issues

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Saturday called on its faithful to wear white in the coming Sundays and to display white ribbons at public places as a show of purity and unity amid disasters and governance issues affecting the country.

In a circular, CBCP President and Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David asked that white be worn on the Sundays of October and November. The display of white ribbons, meanwhile, included churches and homes as well.

"Let us beg the Lord's mercy on our people," David said, citing the series of "terrible" calamities of typhoons, volcanic eruptions, fires, and earthquakes.

David asked the Catholic flock to reiterate the CBCP's recent "National Call to Prayer and Public Repentance" every Sunday, if not every day, until the Solemnity of Christ the King, accompanied by the tolling of bells.

"Let it be our collective Miserere, our plea for mercy and renewal as a nation," David said.

The CBCP leader said showing the white ribbons was a "sign of desire for transparency, accountability, and good governance, and as a humble prayer that our nation may be washed clean and renewed in God's mercy, and spared of further calamities."

"Let our white garments be a symbol of the purity we seek for our land and our hearts. May this season of prayer and repentance lead us to hope, healing, and the restoration of our common life in truth and justice," David said.

"Let us beg the Lord to renew our nation, and make us instruments of justice and peace," he added.

The CBCP's call comes a day after the doublet earthquakes of magnitude-7.4 and 6.8 off Manay in Davao Oriental, and 11 days after a magnitude-6.9 earthquake hit Bogo City in Cebu.

The Cebu earthquake on September 30 has affected 201,245 families or 722,919 individuals, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Saturday. 

On the other hand, Davao Oriental doublet earthquakes on Friday registered at magnitude-7.4 and 6.8. These have affected 3,519 families with 33 houses reported damaged so far.

Almost 800 aftershocks were recorded as of 7 a.m. Saturday in Manay.

Meanwhile, multisectoral protests have staged demanding accountability from elective officials, Public Works engineers, and contractors amid a flood control corruption scandal. — VDV, GMA Integrated News