Pinoys won’t buy bishops’ call for military rule — solon

By Charlie V. Manalo

10/31/2008

A senior House member yesterday said the call of some bishops for a military takeover of the government “will not get traction” as what the country has today is “a mature constitutional army” that will not be “seduced by such kind of a temptation.”

But the most important factor on why such a project will not take off, according to House trade committee chairman Rep. Antonio Alvarez, is it will not be supported by the people.

“Even if a military government will have the blessings of some priests, Filipinos will never allow themselves to be subjugated by the cross and the sword again,” Alvarez said.

“We do not want a government that is run by people in cassocks and camouflage clothes,” he said.

Alvarez added the suggestion of some bishops for Armed Forces chief Gen. Alexander Yano to replace President Arroyo “came as a surprise to many because the Church, which fought martial law, has always been a critic of military abuses.”

“But it doesn’t mean that the message of the bishops should be swept aside because of an errant comment by one of them,” Alvarez said.

“It is a right, in fact it is a duty to call for reforms, and whether you are a bishop or a barber, you have a right to take part in the national discussion of issues because it is your civic duty,” he said.

“But there’s a moral hazard in calling for a solution that is more harmful than the problem itself,” Alvarez said.

The bishops’ statement, meanwhile, continued to get adverse reaction from administration lawmakers.

Rep. Pedro Romualdo, chairman of the House committee on good government and public accountability, said the five bishops’ derogatory statement against the President was truly saddening and unfortunate.

“The people of God are supposed to give the people proper and moral guidance, not to call on them to oust a duly-constituted government. Romans 13:1-7, the passages on submission to the authorities, are very clear about this,” Romualdo said.

He added while the bishops are entitled to their opinion, they should, however, exercise caution to prevent their personal views from being mistaken for the official position of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) or the Catholic Church.

“I have high respects for the CBCP but I believe that the primordial job of its members and leaders is to lift the spirits of the faithful and bring them closer to God. Their task is to win souls for God and not to scout for possible replacement of the country’s President,” Romualdo said.

Rep. Lorna Silverio also expressed dismay over the bishops’ call for a new government and their corruption allegations against the Chief Executive.

“We urge them not to be overly judgmental and bias against the President. Their statement calling for her government’s replacement is utterly unfair since she’s a persistently hardworking and dedicated President,” said Silverio, chairwoman of the committee on inter-parliamentary relations and diplomacy.

Silverio said what the people fervently need now are words of encouragement and hope from leaders of the Church for more unity and harmony in the country. “We have numerous problems already, including the global financial crisis. We don’t need anymore unrest.”

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