Boholanos aired their appeal to the local church hierarchy to read the pastoral letter issued by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Sunday, May 1, 2016 but has yet to be received by the two dioceses in Bohol.

This was the overwhelming sentiments of listeners of DYRD “Inyong Alagad” in a phone in survey conducted this morning, Wednesday, May 4, 2016 when asked “should a pastoral letter issued by the CBCP to guide voters in their choice for a candidate be read in the churches during mass?

Fourteen callers responded to the question and majority declared the need for the church to read the pastoral letter to serve as a guide for the voters to choose the right candidate.

Some of those who responded denounced the Catholic Church for meddling with politics and should focus more on the bigger issue of vote buying.

Fr. Argerio Pana of the Diocese of Tagbilaran told DYRD “Inyong Alagad” that the translation of the pastoral letter from English to the vernacular is a call by the bishop and will appoint an official translator to express closely the meaning of the message.

The release of the pastoral letter by the CBCP created a stir when the Boholano faithful got wind of the issuance after “Inyong Alagad” read portions of the letter that others interpreted as an obvious reference to presidential frontrunner Rodrigo Duterte. (Chito M. Visarra)