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September 1, 2026 | 7:00am
Motorists commute through a flooded street due to rains brought by the southwest monsoon in Pampanga on August 31, 2026.
AFP / Jam Sta Rosa
MANILA, Philippines — Filipino resilience should not mean passive acceptance of corruption, incompetence and neglect, Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David said Monday as floods continued to disrupt communities across Luzon.
In a social media post on Monday, August 31, David urged Filipinos to go beyond enduring disasters and instead demand accountability for preventable suffering.
"There comes a point when resilience becomes dangerous because it teaches us merely to endure," David said.
"After every disaster, we are told to be resilient. This time, let us also be defiant... Let us refuse to normalize preventable suffering. Let us demand answers. Let us demand accountability. And where the law allows it, let us act together as citizens to hold accountable those who fail in their duty to protect the public," he added.
David said such defiance should take the form of organized, legal civic action rather than simply anger on social media.
He encouraged motorists to file complaints before regulatory agencies, communities to demand disclosure of flood-control projects and budgets, and citizens to seek legal remedies when negligence results in injury or loss.
"Defiance asks questions: Who designed this? Who built it? Who inspected it? Who maintained it? How much did taxpayers pay for it? Why does the same place flood every year? Where did the flood-control money go?" David said.
"And when negligence is established, who will be held accountable?"
David cited recurring flooding along the North Luzon Expressway in San Simon, Pampanga, where he said he was recently trapped in traffic for almost five hours.
Flooding continued to disrupt traffic in the San Simon area Monday, with some NLEX lanes impassable to smaller vehicles.
Parts of Bulacan also remained flooded after days of southwest monsoon, or habagat, rains. Floodwaters remained inside historic Barasoain Church in Malolos earlier Monday before receding later in the afternoon.
"Filipino resilience is a beautiful virtue. But resilience should never mean passive acceptance of incompetence, corruption or neglect," David said.
