Priests slam SP members
THIRTY priests from the Lingayen-Dagupan Archdiocese have so far signed a statement of support for retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz and at the same time condemned the pronouncement of members of the Provincial Board against him.
The priests’ statement is in response to the provincial board members’ earlier manifesto throwing their support behind Governor Amado Espino Jr. in the face of the serious accusation aired against him by retired Archbishop Cruz over the jueteng issue.
Fifteen more members of the clergy in the province are expected to sign the manifesto today, Sunday.
While the board members signed the manifesto calling for declaration of persons who criticize the governor unfairly (alluding to the archbishop) rendering him ineffective in governance as persona non grata, they held back in formally declaring Cruz persona non grata in the province.
The statement of the priests, sent by fax to THE PUNCH, reads: “We vehemently protest and condemn the Manifesto of all the members of the Provincial Board of Pangasinan… besmirching the unsullied integrity of Archbishop Cruz even as they wrongly impute on him ill motives for his attempt to rid the province of illegal gambling.”
The priests also denounced the manifesto of the provincial board members since they said it disregarded what the archbishop had done tirelessly to promote good governance for the past two decades.
The statement also accused Vice Governor Jose Calimlim, who chairs the Sangguniang Panlungsod, and all the board members “of misleading the constituents for making it appear that Archbishop Cruz is against reforms initiated by the provincial government.”
The priests also prayed that the provincial board members be enlightened to retract their pronouncements against Cruz and instead, promptly lend their individual and collective support to the eradication of jueteng and other forms of illegal gambling in the province.–LM
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