MANILA, Philippines - Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz on Wednesday urged presidential candidates to stop the political mudslinging during their campaigns and focus more on providing social justice to Filipinos during the Lenten season.

In an interview, Cruz said mudslinging during the campaign period benefits no one especially the poor. He added that candidates should also curb their spending on campaign ads but instead use the money to help the less privileged.

"We have candidates who say they are for the poor but then spend millions of pesos on their campaign ads. Where is the justice there? It's common sense that if you want to help your fellow man, you attend to his needs first before your own," he told abs-cbnNEWS.com.

Cruz said the need for justice is a timely message during Lent as millions of Catholics in the Philippines focus on the sacrifices made by Jesus Christ during his time on earth.

He said one way that candidates could focus on justice is to "think about what benefits others without thinking of how it would benefit themselves."

"This is the problem with the present administration, there is no justice. The poor stay poor because they are not treated equally with the rich. Our jails are full of poor people who are victims of injustice," he said.