Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Catholic bishops' group hits 'no-el' scenario
THE Catholic Church hierarchy on Tuesday warned against the possibility of having no elections next year as aired by allies of the Arroyo Government even if the Commission on Elections (Comelec) had declared it is still possible to implement a partial automation of the May 2007 elections.
Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said it is important that an election next year be conducted as having no elections would cause further political instability.
Citing the January and July pastoral statement of the CBCP, Lagdameo said the "elections in 2007 must not be cancelled", especially if the proposed Charter amendments have not been transparent, referring to the people's initiative being pushed by Sigaw ng Bayan movement and the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (Ulap).
"Changing the Constitution involving major shifts in the form of government, requires widespread participation, total transparency, and relative serenity that allows for rational discussion and debate. This is best done through a Constitutional Convention. The reasons for constitutional change must be based on the common good rather than on self-serving interests or the interests of political dynasties," the July pastoral statement said.
Lagdameo also said they would be happy if the 2007 elections would be automated as this would prevent cheating but the Comelec already admitted that it would be hard to be implemented fully with the limited time to do all the preparations and bidding of the equipment.
"We've heard that the Comelec explained that there are certain difficulties in it and it may take time for it to really be implemented but for us we just want to be assured whether it will be used or not," Lagdameo said.
Comelec spokesman James Jimenez, on the other hand, dismissed the no-election scenario as rumor because it has no basis.
He said only the automation of canvassing, voting and counting would not be implemented since they would need more time to do them but the transmission of the election results can be done. (MSN/Sunnex)
(October 25, 2006 issue)
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