📷Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David celebrating Holy Mass with political prisoners | Kodao
On the MMDJ-4 “request” to “take down” photos of Cardinal David’s Dec. 26 Mass in Bicutan jail
I was surprised to receive an email from the Metro Manila District Jail Annex 4 (MMDJ-4) questioning the publication of “images” they sent us of the Holy Mass officiated by Cardinal Ambo David on December 26, 2024 at the jail and “request(ing)” me to “take down the aforementioned postings immediately,” purportedly because these were for the Cardinal’s use only and should “not (be) shared on any social media platforms.”
To avoid any repercussions, Kapatid complied this morning with the MMDJ-4 instruction. We have replaced the photos with blank spaces – https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15TS29rR6Q/. However, we have written back “respectfully requesting a clear, legal explanation from the MMDJ-4”: What is specifically wrong with sharing these photos of the Mass when the MMDJ-4 Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/BJMPMMDJANNEX4/photos – posts NUMEROUS photos of Masses held inside the jail? It also publishes NUMEROUS photos of PDLs attending the Masses, with their faces blurred or partially covered. Other jails with Facebook pages also publish similar photos of Masses held inside their facility.
Moreover, the Diocese of Caloocan under Cardinal Ambo – https://www.facebook.com/dioceseofkalookan – has made holding Masses in jails an integral part of church ministry, and regularly posts photos of these on its Facebook page. So does the Diocese of Pasig – https://www.facebook.com/rcdioceseofpasig – which sponsors Masses at the MMDJ-4 since the diocese covers the City of Taguig where the Camp Bagong Diwa jails are located.
In fact, when we last looked, the MMDJ-4 Facebook page has shared 32 photos of the January 16, 2024 Mass concelebrated by then Bishop Ambo David, also the CBCP President, inside the jail, which was upon the invitation of Kapatid. On March 27, 2024, Holy Wednesday, the MMDJ-4 also shared 22 photos of the Mass officiated by Bishop Mylo Vergara of the Diocese of Pasig, who is also the CBCP Vice President, highlighted by the ritual of washing of the feet, which included political prisoners. The MMDJ-4 social media page has also been posting many more photos of other Masses, all obviously intended for public dissemination.
Kapatid requested the new photos of the December 26 Mass from the MMDJ-4 given this established practice of sharing such content on social media. We thus find it extremely disturbing why we are now being made to “take down” simple photos of a Mass led by the tenth Cardinal of the Philippines.
What makes the December 26, 2024 Mass by Apung Ambo— beloved by victims of the drug war and the political prisoners—any different from other Masses that its images should be banned from being posted? Is there something wrong with visiting political prisoners, saying Mass for them, and calling for their release as the Jubilee Year of Hope 2025 begins? Is there something wrong with following in the footsteps of Pope Francis in bringing the Church closer to the marginalized and the oppressed, the defenseless and voiceless?
Kapatid hopes that the MMDJ-4 will seriously reconsider its take-down order and share its photos of the December 26, 2024 Mass on its own Facebook page. This would help mitigate questions about double standards and undue silencing of social media. Sharing these photos in fact would demonstrate how the jail as a rehabilitative, reformative institution respects the right to religious freedom and promotes transparency by making such activities publicly visible. This would align with the broader principles of human rights and public accountability that must guide the actions of all government institutions.
This is not just a matter of photos. It’s about consistency, transparency, accountability, the protection of rights, and the pursuit of truth.
