MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Starting September 14 — if you live in Metro Manila — be ready with your ear plugs from 8:00 to 8:05 in the evening.
Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle has called for the tolling of church bells in the Archdiocese of Manila, as he issued his strongest written statement against drug-related killings in the Philippines.
The Archdiocese of Manila covers cities of Manila, Makati, Pasay, San Juan, and Mandaluyong in the Philippines’ National Capital Region.
While slamming the “heartless violence” in the country, Tagle said in a letter to his archdiocese, “I also ask that beginning September 14, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, there be a 5-minute tolling or ringing of our church bells at 8 in the evening to call on everyone to remember the dead and pray for them.”
Not to be outdone , a group of concerned citizens are fighting back — with bullhorns!
At exactly the same time as the tolling of church bells, the citizens will be sounding off the sirens from their megaphones.
A spokesperson for the group told The Adobo Chronicles that the sounding of sirens is to remind the Church and Filipino Catholics about widespread sexual abuses committed by members of the clergy.
The group decided to stage the siren protest following a damning report by bishop-accountability.org, documenting sexual abuses committed by priests and bishops in the Philippines.
The report confirms clergy abuse and the coverup by the Church as revealed in the Hollywood film, “Spotlight.”
So do your eardrums a big favor. Set your alarms at one minute before 8 p.m. on September 14 onwards and don your earplugs or noise-cancelling earphones.