ELECTIONS will be the main agenda of the three-day 107th Plenary Assembly of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), which starts Saturday at the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center in Paco, Manila.
The bishops' group is set to elect its new set of officers as well as evaluate the outcome of the May 2013 midterm elections.
In an interview, CBCP secretary general Msgr. Joselito Asis said the election of new officials will most likely take place on the first day.
"It's (election) usually on the first day but it will probably take two days to finish it because there are discussions while the election is ongoing," said Asis.
Aside from the CBCP president, the bishops coming from the country's 86 dioceses will also vote their new vice president, members of the CBCP Permanent Council representing Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, as well as secretary general, assistant secretary general, and chairpersons of the different commissions, committees and offices.
CBCP by-laws provide that the president and the vice-president are elected for two-year terms and can serve for a maximum of two terms. By tradition they are being re-elected for their second and last term.
While outgoing president Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma is still eligible for re-election, he said he is inclined to decline another two-year term as CBCP chief citing his responsibilities as Cebu archbishop as reason.
"I'm going to tell the plenum to please elect somebody else. There are many bishops who are also capable (of being president)," Palma said.
"Cebu is a very big archdiocese and I have tons of work to do there but I cannot since I'm here," he added.
In CBCP history, the vice president is usually the one that succeeds the president. The current vice president is Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas.
Aside from having its own elections, the CBCP Plenary Assembly is also set to make a general evaluation of the just-concluded midterm polls.
According to Palma, one of their agenda in the meeting of all Filipino Catholic bishops in the country is concerning the deficiencies found during the conduct of the elections.
"We told the bishops and in fact we already lined up as one item in our agenda our comment on the elections… the imperfections, anomalies or whatever limitations we have. So that, next time around, we can do better," said Palma.
To recall, the CBCP–National Secretariat for Social Action (Nassa) had issued a statement last May 28 regarding the midterm elections, wherein it said the electoral exercise was nothing more but a "mockery of our democracy."
"Nassa is not blind to the glaring discrepancies and election violations, the highly-suspicious interventions during the canvassing, and the possible manipulation of election result during the lull hours of transmission, canvassing and consolidation of votes," said CBCP-Nassa.
Aside from the evaluation of the midterm elections, also in the agenda of the prelates is the assessment on the role of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) during elections.
"One of the agenda is there will be an evaluation of the midterm polls particularly on the role of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV)… if it is still relevant," said Asis.
"Because our election now is complicated due to automation, I don't know if the people or volunteers are ready for that," added Asis.
To note, PPCRV is the citizens' arm of the Catholic Church and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) during elections.
Prior to the May 13 polls, the PPCRV had a fall out with the Archdiocese of Lipa after Archbishop Ramon Arguelles resulting to the latter pulling out its volunteers from watchdog duties under the organization headed by former ambassador to the Vatican Henrietta de Villa.
To note, members of the CBCP are assembled as a "plenary assembly" only every January and July.
The Assembly is usually concluded with the CBCP issuing statements or pastoral letters agreed upon by its members during the meeting. (HDT/Sunnex)