MANILA - The head of the Catholic Church in the Philippines has urged his fellow prelates to speak up and stand up amid a bloody war on drugs and proposed laws that will affect the right to life and the Filipino family.

In his latest pastoral letter, Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) President Archbishop Socrates Villegas insisted that the Church has the responsibility to be "prophetic" and preach for a just society especially in these "troubled times."

"We dare not speak, lest we be shamed, chastised, ridiculed," the archbishop said.

This, he said, is the reason why bishops, priests and the religious should not shy away from voicing their opinions.

"We have a Gospel to preach," Villegas added. "We will do so, in season and out of season. We are enemies to none. We endeavor to be merciful."

The five-page letter, dated November 22, is in response to the current socio-political landscape.

It was released days after the controversial burial of former dictator, President Ferdinand Marcos, at the Libingan ng mga Bayani last Friday, a move which the CBCP has condemned.

The pastoral letter did not mention this event but it discussed other issues like the alleged extra-judicial killings under the Duterte administration, end of labor contractualization, Reproductive Health Law, and a number of pending legislation such as the restoration of the death penalty and the anti-discrimination bill.

CONTINUING OPPOSITION

Once again, Villegas criticized the government's war against drugs which according to him has disregarded the rights of the many.

"The daily reports of suspects and detainees shot by law-enforcers supposedly because 'nanlaban sila' or 'nang-agaw ng baril' are very disturbing and truly distressing," the archbishop said.

According to the ABS-CBN Research and Investigative Group, 2,123 were killed in drug-related incidents, as of October 18; 1,227 of them died during police operations.

Meanwhile, while the Church acknowledged the plight of those who are discriminated because of their gender and sexual orientation, Villegas warned that legislative measures pertaining to this might lead to the enactment of same-sex marriage in the country.

"We sense a threat to the institution of marriage and to the family as we have always known it, proposals that make same-sex unions analogous to and treated in the same manner by the law as marriages," Villegas said.