Manila (AsiaNews) – Some leading figures in the Filipino Church are calling on leaders of Asia-Pacific (APEC) nations meeting in Manila this week to push for an economy governed not only by market forces but also by human values.
Cardinal Orlando Quevedo, archbishop of Cotabato, said global leaders must never lose sight of ordinary and poor people as they make economic policies and market dynamics.
For him, the current global economy should have a human face, for “the human face speaks about the development of the poor people”.
For the prelate, APEC leaders should address hunger and poverty, saying that economic growth should benefit the poor.
“We should not be avidly following a trickle-down economy system but something that is bottom–up . . . so that the poor people can feel and enjoy the benefits of economic development,” he explained.
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said that APEC leaders should roll out inclusive reforms that improve the living conditions of the poor.
“It’s not just about helping the poor [. . .]. It’s about empowering the poor so they are heard because we are so used to looking at the poor as recipients of help,” Villegas said.
“I think we should change the mind-set when we look at the poor as people with voices but they are not heard. They are not just recipients of help, they must be heard,” he said.
We “should always include especially those experiencing hardships, those who are forgotten,” he added.
The CBCP chief also said the poor should be empowered through education, and freedom to express themselves, among other things.
“Don’t equate the poor with simply giving help, giving aid through dole outs, because that’s not what they are asking. Instead, let us afford them with an active voice in worldly decisions,” he said.