MANILA, August 20, 2012— A Catholic bishop said Pampanga province needed new breed of leaders who would emerge from next year’s elections.
San Fernando Auxiliary Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said it is high-time for the province to have “new faces” to meet the social and political challenges.
“We are trying as much as possible to encourage a new breed of promising leaders to enter politics to change our political landscape here,” David said.
The church official expressed concern over the rampant patronage systems that have stalled the pace of social and economic reform.
The bishop believes that the province will never run out of leaders of the right caliber.
“I think there are enough people out there but when it comes to politics of patronage the primary concern is capital and popularity. If they don’t have that, they are discouraged to run,” said David.
“The election is approaching so the people are beginning to talk about options now. We hear a lot of things but of course the most that we can do is to educate the voters. We try not to get involved directly in politics,” he said.
David was reacting to former president Gloria Mapacapagal-Arroyo’s reported plan to seek a new term as Pampanga representative in May 2013.
But the bishop said Arroyo is free to seek a fresh term in the House of Representatives.
“That’s her prerogative. We are a democratic country but of course she also has to look after her health,” he said.
“But I would say that there is a good constituency of middle class voters who are looking for other alternatives. It’s not necessarily from the traditional political families but new breed of leaders,” he said. [RL/CBCPNews]
