The Arroyo government got it all wrong. The stand of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on the impeachment issue is not what  her officials think it is.

This was the reaction of Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz to the initial statements issued by presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye.

Cruz, a former CBCP president, said the CBCP’s stand that said it is “not inclined to support the impeachment at this time” in fact meant to impress upon the laity that impeachment is futile and unproductive because Congress is made up of too many pro-administration congressmen and consequently impeachment  will be simply be thrown out of the window.”

“The truth is not borne out by how many or by sheer numbers,” he said.

He clarified that the bishops “did not deem it useful to promote impeachment due to the experience last year when the impeachment cases were just thrown out and denied merely on account of numbers of congressmen who were allies of President Arroyo.”

He said the CBCP felt that the impeachment filed this year will likely suffer the same fate as last year owing to the sheer number of majority congressmen who are out to protect President Arroyo.

Cruz reiterated CBCP’s sentiment that while the conference was not inclined to promote or endorse impeachment, “we respect very much the right of others, or groups or other entities to file impeachment.”

He pointed out that what was more significant about the last CBCP statement is the bishops’ sentiment towards Charter change, highlighting the flawed process and the motive behind it.

He added that the CBCP also endorsed the holding of elections because elections could bring in new faces in Congress and therefore the composition of Congress might become different.

Cruz expressed optimism that an impeachment process after next year’s election could have better chances of succeeding.

“These are the things that are interconnected – the impeachment, the Chacha and the election. Some people do not see the connection,” he said.

He maintained that the truth of whether the president is legitimate or otherwise is not proven by    just numbers, by a process where   the President is be given a day in court to answer accusations of cheating, of killings, of scams or even of jueteng money being used for national elections. – EVA

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