Filipino priest plants crosses, trees to stir nationalism

Filipino priest plants crosses, trees to stir nationalism

A Catholic priest in the Philippines has started to plant crosses and trees along the streets of capital Manila to “rebuild the nation” after dictator’s son Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. won the recent presidential election.

Anti-corruption priest Father Robert Reyes planted 500 wooden crosses and trees on June 14 to remind Catholics of their inseparable love for God and country.

“This project is related to our Philippine Independence Day. I wanted to replant the Philippine flag and to rebuild the nation to remind ourselves of our love for God and country,” Father Reyes told UCA News.

Father Reyes, known as the “running priest,” has fought presidents with his anti-corruption and human rights campaigns.

In 2016, he opposed the burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. at the national cemetery for heroes, calling it a “terrible insult to history.”

“I have done numerous campaigns against corruption against many presidents and anomalous government transactions that ultimately victimized the poor and the marginalized. In corruption, it is the poor who are always the victim,” Father Reyes told UCA News.

“Because of what happened in the elections, I decided to include the Philippine flag as a symbol that many of our countrymen today have forgotten to love the nation by voting for corrupt officials”

The priest said his efforts were in response to the presidential poll when Marcos Jr. defeated church-backed Vice President Leonor “Leni” Robredo.

“Because of what happened in the elections, I decided to include the Philippine flag as a symbol that many of our countrymen today have forgotten to love the nation by voting for corrupt officials,” he said.

“When Bongbong Marcos won, a lot of people were saying that they were going to migrate. But shouldn’t it be the opposite? We [should] stay here and watch our government officials and protect our motherland from the traitors and the corrupt.”

This is the second time Father Reyes has planted 500 crosses in Manila. The first time was during the 500th anniversary of Christianity in the Philippines.

The crosses were made with the elements of the Philippine flag like the three stars that symbolized the three major island groups in the country — Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Father Reyes said the incorporation of the flag’s elements in his crosses meant the unification of faith and nationalism — something that a modern Catholic should not separate.

“Some say that being a Filipino is not the same as being a Catholic. And so, we remain Catholics even if we don’t love the nation. But this is false. If we love the nation by voting for good leaders, then we are good Catholics,” he said.

Father Reyes also said that in order to change the political view of every voter, clergymen must go back to teaching the faith and live lives according to it.

“The mission now is to strengthen the faith and nation because it’s very weak. The cross and the flag are symbols of what we must uphold and protect and promote: faith and love of country,” he said.