‘Nanlumo ako’: Luneta protesters call out Cardinal David over EDSA speech

MANILA, Philippines – Mae Paner, a prominent artist and activist, watched the video showing the speech of Cardinal Pablo Virgilio “Ambo” David three times. “It really made me cry,” she said in a Facebook comment.

Paner was responding to a comment by Sister Mary John Mananzan, a prominent activist nun, who was also dismayed at the speech. Mananzan, the 88-year-old chair emerita of activist group Gabriela, told Paner that she texted the cardinal: “Today, isn’t it more urgent to unify for a common goal than to point out differences that divide?”

Paner, one of the organizers of the Luneta anti-corruption protest on Sunday, November 30, was among those who criticized David for his speech during the Trillion Peso March at the EDSA People Power Monument on Sunday.

The Kalookan bishop headlined his 27-minute speech by asking: “Why are we here at the EDSA People Power Monument on this day?”

David, 66, said they chose EDSA over Luneta “because we do not yet believe in the call of the people who are there right now.” He was referring to the call by Luneta protesters for both President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte to resign, paving the way for a transition council that is expected to eradicate corruption in government.

He said it is most important to ask: “What is the alternative? What’s next?”

“We do not want the proposals for a transitional council or revolutionary government, because we do not want the Philippines to become a Banana Republic,” said David.

“We also do not want a civilian and military junta, even if we bishops are promised a position in the government. Because it is clear to us that politics and government are not our expertise — we will never be tempted to become Talibans. Ours is only moral and spiritual leadership, that is why we are here, with you. We are just part of the church that journeys with people,” the cardinal added.

The cardinal’s speech, though applauded by the crowd at EDSA, fueled a debate among anti-corruption activists. It stoked fears of further division among them ahead of the 2028 presidential election — a high-stakes race that might see another Duterte presidency if the opposition fails to unite behind a single candidate. 

The words of David mattered because he is seen as one of the most credible personalities — a unifying figure for some — to rebuke people in power. He was, after all, one of the staunchest critics of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, earning the ire of the populist leader and gaining him death threats and a now-dismissed sedition case.

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Paner said that, compared to other challenges of mounting the Luneta protest, listening to David’s speech “pained me the most.”

“When I heard him speak at EDSA, nanlumo ako (I was disheartened). Because I hoped his words would invite rather than clearly separate us from them. That was what he did. He othered!” said Paner in a Facebook post on Monday, December 1.

“Cardinal, if not now, then when? The present is all we have. There is more reason to hold one strong rally to win against corruption. We should be fighting the bigger enemy of systemic corruption together. Listening to you, Cardinal Ambo, we are fighting among each other, and your stand is better than ours,” Paner said.

“Will God do the same thing if God were on the EDSA stage? Us versus them?” added the activist who is also known as Juana Change.

Paner then appealed to David, saying that if the opposition is divided now, it would be much more difficult for them to have a single ticket for president and vice president by 2028. “In my view, being united against Duterte is our biggest chance for transformation.”

“Is it now really impossible? Am I too naive? Let’s try it again, Cardinal Ambo. Please! For the future,” she said, showing her high regard for the Catholic leader despite her criticism.

“I love you, Cardinal Ambo!” she ended. “One big rally next year?”

Sonny Melencio, chairperson of Partido Lakas ng Masa, said David’s remarks on Sunday “are both saddening and alarming.”

“Instead of condemning the roots of the problem — billions in stolen public funds, ghost projects, and entrenched high-level corruption — the cardinal chose to find fault with the people’s calls for the Marcos-Duterte resignation, the broader ‘resign all’ demand, and the proposal for a People’s Transition Council (PTC),” Melencio said on Monday.

The activist leader criticized how David portrayed the PTC “as a pathway to a military coup or a civilian-military junta,” while he lumped the “resign all” demand with the Duterte faction’s attempt to replace Marcos with Duterte through the military’s help.

“The PTC is not a recipe for disorder. It is a democratic proposal designed to ensure clean, genuine, and credible elections that will finally dismantle political dynasties. If one speaks of democracy, this is precisely a step toward a more inclusive and participatory political process — not rule by a few, and certainly not by dynasties,” Melencio said.

He also pointed out that “PTC-like transitions” have already taken place in Nepal and Bangladesh. 

“The attempt to separate Marcos Jr. from accountability reflects an opportunistic ‘lesser evil’ strategy, one that softens criticism of the current administration despite mounting evidence directly implicating the President and much of his machinery in the plunder of the national treasury,” Melencio continued, adding that up to now, “not a single top official has been jailed.”

He said that the Catholic Church, “by insisting on ‘airtight evidence’ before calling out” Marcos, “risks acting like a courtroom that requires airtight litigation.” 

“Like Cardinal David, we too are exhausted — exhausted by a broken system, extreme poverty, and injustices perpetuated by those in power,” said Melencio. “We respect the Church in all its denominations. But we cannot accept it when Church leadership selectively shields one faction of the ruling elite in the framework of ‘lesser evil.’”

Lawyer Aaron Pedrosa, secretary-general of the activist group Sanlakas, called on David to “have faith in the people.”

“We welcome the discourse now taking place, triggered by the ‘resign all’ call. It is no small feat to have no less a cardinal, a ranking patriarch of the Catholic hierarchy in the country, to speak his thoughts on ‘resign all.’ We need this level of discourse as we collectively pursue collective unities in tackling systemic corruption in government,” Pedrosa said on Sunday.

“But fearmongering and misinformation are the end of discourse. What was Cardinal Ambo’s intention in suggesting military action to compel resignations? Was it to link the calls for a military junta or a military takeover to the ‘resign all’ call? Wittingly or unwittingly, this seemed to be the suggestion,” he added.

Sanlakas, he pointed out, vehemently rejects a military junta or a military takeover.

“Sanlakas urges Cardinal Ambo to have faith in the people. We wish to remind him that resignations have in fact happened because of the mounting indignation and unrelenting protest against the corruption in the Marcos Jr. government,” said Pedrosa, citing the resignations of former House speaker Martin Romualdez, former lawmaker Zaldy Co, former budget secretary Amenah Pangandaman, and former executive secretary Lucas Bersamin. 

“Former president Corazon Aquino’s revolutionary government after the ouster of the Marcos Sr. dictatorship is proof of how the seemingly impossible was made possible because of People Power,” Pedrosa said. “Just as faith can move mountains, so can faith in the people deliver results.”

Rappler sought David’s response to criticism against him, including Mananzan’s text message that called him out for his EDSA speech. The cardinal said he is opting for a personal, not public, approach.

“I’d rather talk to them directly than publicly,” David said. – Rappler.com