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Friday, August 18, 2006
Civil disobedience: Vidal on House act
Cebu Archbishop Ri-cardo Cardinal Vidal only uttered “civil disobedience” upon hearing the news that the House committee on justice threw out the impeachment complaint against President Arroyo last Wednesday.
However, Cebu arch-diocesan media liaison officer Msgr. Achilles Dakay told Sun.Star Cebu that the cardinal does not want to comment on the issue just yet.
“He merely uttered civil disobedience during breakfast,” said Dakay.
Dakay also said that the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ (CBCP) yearning to “search for truth” has been defeated because of the scrapping of the complaint.
The CBCP withdrew from a dialogue with the Arroyo administration on pressing problems of the country that was facilitated by an envoy. The cancellation happened Wednesday, the same day that the impeachment complaint against Arroyo was thumbed down.
Last July, the bishops’ group issued a pastoral letter saying it respected “the position of individuals or groups that wish to continue using the impeachment process to arrive at the truth.”
At the same time, it said that, “in the light of previous circumstances, we are not inclined at the present moment to favor the impeachment process as a means for establishing the truth.”
Dakay also took offense to some statements of legislators that the complaint was not killed at the House committee because it was already “dead on arrival.”
“If it was killed before it reached the committee, the question is, what is the truth that the CBCP said we should search for? Does this mean that we will never know?” he said.
The House justice committee voted 56 to 24 to junk the impeachment complaint for being insufficient in substance on Wednesday night.
Speaker Jose De Venecia Jr., in an ambush interview, said the President “is very happy” upon learning of the results of the impeachment.
De Venecia even described Arroyo as being “in high heavens” as she had called up several members of the House to thank them, including some opposition members.
He expects the committee decision to be duplicated Tuesday when it is presented to the plenary.
De Venecia said they never resorted to any form of bribery nor do they need to even as the opposition lawmakers themselves have recognized the weakness of their impeachment complaint.
“We don’t need to bribe them because the impeachment complaint has been dead on arrival. Even the opposition said when they filed it, suntok sa buwan ito, sinabi nila (it’s a shot at the moon, they said),” he said.
House Minority Leader Francis Escudero, meanwhile, has remained hopeful that his colleagues will still reconsider the decision to junk the complaint when the matter is discussed at the floor next week.
Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño, in press conference in Cebu, also said that if the administration congressmen, including those from Cebu, really what to know if their pieces of evidence are sufficient to impeach Arroyo, they should read the contents of the seven boxes of document that they have presented to the justice committee.
But he said the lawmakers who are allied with the President just turned a blind eye on the issues because they are out to protect Arroyo.
“We are beefing up for another battle in the plenary and the fight will continue,” Casiño said.
The Gloria Step Down Movement (GSM), a broad coalition of militant groups launched last year to call for Arroyo’s resignation, will continue with its campaign.
GSM convenor Democrito Barcenas, also former president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines Cebu City chapter, said they will do so in a peaceful manner.
The CBCP also announced yesterday said it backed out from a discussion being brokered by an ambassador between the Catholic Church prelates and the government.
In a letter sent to Ambassador Howard Dee of the Assisi Foundation, who is one of those involved in the talk, CBCP president and Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo said the bishops decided not to push through with the Magsasay Center Dialogue until they have fully discussed the matter.
He also said: “Since our participation for the common good at this point in time is not workable, we hold in abeyance our active participation in this process.” (Sunnex)/JGA/EOB)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (August 18, 2006 issue)
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