CEBU Archbishop Jose Palma sees nothing wrong if President Benigno Aquino III has to apologize for his role in the bloody encounter in Mamasapano, Maguindanao almost two months ago.
“Why would you be embarrassed if you feel or believe that you have done something wrong?” Palma said.
Palma gave this reaction amid the President’s refusal to apologize after results of the PNP Board of Inquiry (BOI) and the Senate that looked into the Jan. 25 encounter showed that the President was involved in the operation.
Palma, who led 706 priests of the Archdiocese of Cebu in a Chrism Mass last Tuesday, told reporters that Aquino should show humility in the face of adversities.
“The Pope often asks the faithful to pray for him because he is a sinner. Even some saints even admit that they are sinners. And so a great person has no qualms to say they are sorry if they are aware of their faults,” Palma said.
“For me, it’s also a sign of a great man to be sorry if he feels he has (been) remiss,” he added.
Malacañang has said there has been no formal discussion on whether the President should issue an apology for the Mamasapano incident.
While Malacañang continues to insist that Aquino has taken responsibility for the incident, any form of public apology is still out of the question.