With many lawmakers present, a Mindanao bishop enjoined the Catholic faithful not to “tell a lie”.

Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo’s sermon during a mass held Wednesday (March 18) at the House of Representatives has taken the notice of many present, including the media, while a number of Congress members are still smarting from accusations of involvement in the multi-billion peso flood controlscam.

Bagaporo, who heads the diocese of Kidapawan, urged legislators to demonstrate God’s faithfulness and truth in serving the country.

“Let us live in the truth because if’s a sin to tell a lie,” Bagaforo said.

In his homily, the prelate noted that repeated lies and dishonesty only trigger skepticism towards leaders of the country and contribute to a worsening crisis of credibility.

He said people must learn from the exmaple of the fable of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”, pointing out that as a result of the boy’s habitual lying, he has lost his credibility that people no longer believed in what he says.

“Even if telling the truth is difficult, even if it is embarrassing, even if it costs us something - it isalways bettger than a lie,” the bishop stressed.

Lawmakers, he said, should be models of honesty and accountability,” adding that public service demands words and actions that cabe trusted without doubts.