Msgr. Pedro Quitorio, spokesman for the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said that while some bishops have been vocal in objecting to the plans of former President Joseph Estrada to run for president in the May 2010 elections, he stressed that the bishops’ conference has no right to dictate on whom voters should vote for in 2010.“The CBCP won’t say to people that this candidate is good or bad. We are not allowed to do that,” Quitorio said.
The CBCP official made the statement in reaction to yesterday’s scheduled formal declaration of the former president to run again for the presidency in 2010.
Quitorio admitted that there are some bishops who are opposed to Estrada’s plan.
‘There are some bishops who are against it but it is not the official position of the CBCP. The bishops are not prohibited from commenting in their own individual capacity,” he said.
Quitorio said what the Catholic Church can do is guide the faithful in choosing the right candidate by enumerating the qualities they should look for.
“The CBCP earlier encouraged the people to think of possible candidates
that will be of help to the country. We also urge them to look for competent candidates who meet our qualifications,” he said.
In 1998, the bishops, led by Jaime Cardinal Sin, were openly against Estrada and called on the faithful to vote for anybody but Estrada.
Estrada won the presidency by the largest margin ever.
In 2004, it was also clear that the bishops were endorsing Gloria Arroyo and were instrumental in killing the early charges of electoral fraud, claiming that the sovereign will of the people was not thwarted, despite the cheating, which they claimed was minimal. They were proved wrong, as evidence surfaced showing that the cheating was massive.
The bishops also, in 2001, were at the forefront of the power grab of Arroyo and insulted the poor who had massed at the Edsa Shrine to protest the ouster of Estrada.
Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, for his part, reminded the public not to allow guns, goons and gold to again work its way and manipulate the coming May 2010 elections.
Speaking in a forum at the St. Paul University, Rosales asserted that the previous elections should serve as lessons that people should ponder in order not to commit the same mistake in next year’s polls.
“As we face the coming May elections, let us learn from the mistakes, the selfish calculations and our limited vision of easy satisfaction of the past,” he said.
He said money, popularity, force, propaganda, and deceit are just some of the things that destroyed the past elections and has prolonged the misery of the country until the present.
“To repeat their use in an election does not only put off the peace and development of people, they prolong and compound the suffering of the Filipino people,” he stressed.
With the coming elections, Rosales asked the Filipinos to wisely choose their leaders to give the country an honest, moral and humble leadership.
“Like it or not, the voters own their future, no matter how their elected leaders perform or fail, once their votes are cast,” said Rosales.
“The important thing is not only to make sure that automation registers one’s true choice; more important than the tally and registration of the collected votes is one’s stewarding or guardedly registering a well thought of and much prayed for vote,” he added.
He said elections are the only chance for the Filipino to have a direct hand in the selection of persons, who as servant-leaders will be entrusted with the country’s governance and the management of the national resources who can lead and inspire people by their example of a simple and humble life.
“Election is a treasured privilege for the citizen to become part of good and honest governance. It is the citizen’s task to give the country an honest, moral and humble leadership,” he said.
“With very good reasons do people A nation seeks leaders who will serve them and work for the common good of every one, and not just for the exclusive good of some privileged few,” Rosales added.
Meawhile, Supreme Court spokesman Jose Midas Marquez yesterday said that Chief Justice Reynato Puno did not endorse Estrada in advertisements that came out in a broadsheet.
A group calling itself the “Friends of Estrada-Binay” funded a two-page paid political ad on the same day that the former President and Binay were set to formally launch their presidential and vice presidential bid for the May 2010 elections.
The quotes from Puno, the late former President Corazon Aquino and ex SC justice Cecilia Munoz- Palma were claimed to have been made as if defending Estrada in his bid to seek another term after his mandate as President was cut short.
“The better policy approach is to let the people decide who will be the next president. For on political questions, this Court may err but the sovereign people will not. To be sure, the Constitution did not grant to the unelected members of this court the right to elect in behalf of the people,” the political ad quoted Puno as saying.
The quote came from the chief magistrate’s Separate Opinion in the 2004 Tecson vs. Commission on Elections case related to the disqualification case against the late actor Fernando Poe Jr. due to questions about his citizenship.
Marquez clarified that the posting of Puno’s picture and statement alongside the Estrada-Binay political ad should not in any way be construed as an endorsement for them, or for any candidates.
“It is quite clear that the statement of the Chief Justice, as quoted, was made solely to address the peculiar facts and issues on the citizenship of FPJ, and must be construed only within that context. It was not an endorsement and should not be perceived and used as such by any candidate,” said Marquez in a text message.
Marquez said Puno wants to remain faithful to his duty to be impartial and neutral, in keeping with the non-partisan nature of the Moral Force Movement, which he himself convened.
Aquino, who was photographed with Estrada during the Dec. 22, 2008 launching of the book of former Speaker Jose de Venecia, was also quoted in the ad as saying: “Erap, I am one of those who feel guilty for the 2001 uprising. Lahat naman tayo nagkakamali. Patawarin mo na lamang ako (All of us make mistakes. Forgive me.)”
Palma, chairman of the 1987 Constitutional Convention, also stated in the ad that: “The 1987 Constitution suffered. This happened when the ongoing Impeachment trial of former President Joseph Estrada was unceremoniously disrupted and discontinued, and the issues on hand were brought to the parliament of the streets. The Rule of Law was set aside and the Rule of Force prevailed.” With Benjamin B. Pulta and Marie Surbano
Source: http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20091022hed3.html
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