WHY MANY LEADERS OF THE ONLY CHRISTIAN NATION IN ASIA ARE SO CORRUPT

WHY MANY LEADERS OF THE ONLY CHRISTIAN NATION IN ASIA ARE SO CORRUPT

(100% credits to Rex Bacarra, with my full agreement and my own reflections)

The Philippines proudly calls itself the only Christian nation in Asia. The label is repeated so often that it has become almost a national identity. As Rex Bacarra brilliantly argues—and I agree with him 100%—this claim only deepens the painful irony of our situation: we are a Christian nation that also ranks among the most corrupt in the region.

But here is where I would add my own personal spin: nations cannot become Christian. Only persons can. Christianity is not inherited, nor is it a cultural label that can be worn by an entire country. It is a personal faith, a personal commitment, a personal encounter with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And that is where the problem lies.

Too many Filipinos—including our leaders—claim the badge of Christianity without embracing the life of Christ. As Bacarra points out, our faith has become more ritual than reality. Our fiestas are grand, our churches are full, our Facebook feeds are flooded with Bible verses. Yet, outside the walls of the church, the story changes. Corruption flourishes in government, cheating is tolerated in business, dishonesty is excused in daily life.

Christianity is not a matter of culture, but of character. It demands not only prayer but practice. To be a Christian is to accept Jesus as personal God and Savior, to live as He commands—not just on Sundays, but every day of the week.

Corruption, let us be clear, is sin. And when a Christian commits sin, he or she must confess it. But confession is not enough. Corruption requires repentance. And repentance itself is incomplete without resolve: the firm decision not to do it again.

Even that is still not enough. True repentance requires restoration. If you stole, you must return what you took. If you broke, you must repair what you damaged. Building a chapel with stolen funds does not erase the sin. It only launders it.

This is why the oft-repeated phrase “moderate your greed” is empty nonsense. What is needed is not moderation, but eradication. Greed cannot be managed; it must be killed.

And let us not forget-- corruption is not a one-way street. It has two players. The corrupter—the one who bribes—and the grafter—the one who gives in to the temptation of taking. Both are guilty. Both destroy the moral fabric of society.

So why do we still tolerate it? Why do citizens still vote for leaders who kneel in church in the morning and steal from the people in the afternoon? Why do we accept “donations” that are, in truth, stolen goods? Why do we treat forgiveness as a shortcut that requires no change of heart?

The tragedy is that Christianity in the Philippines has become a religion of ceremonies without transformation. We have become a people loud in prayer but silent in morality. A society where faith is proclaimed in words but betrayed in practice.

Imagine what it would look like if our so-called Christian leaders truly lived their faith. If confession were followed by repentance, repentance by resolve, resolve by restoration. If greed were not “moderated” but eradicated. If every act of corruption were met not only with punishment but with a moral demand to repair the wrong.

That is the Christianity we need—not as a nation, but as persons. Because in the end, it is not the Philippines that can be Christian. It is you, it is me, it is every individual who dares to accept Jesus Christ not as a symbol, but as Savior.

Until that happens, we will remain what Bacarra describes so painfully: a nation that prays loudly, but practices corruption silently. The only so-called Christian nation in Asia, but far from Christ in the way we live.

Ramon Ike V. Seneres, www.facebook.com/ike.seneres
iseneres@yahoo.com, 09088877282, senseneres.blogspot.com

11-30-2025 

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