Bishop: Malacañang's timing of Cha-cha move revival suspicious
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 08/15/2008 8:52 AM
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The timing of Malacañang's sudden revival of its call for charter change is suspicious, a bishop said Friday.
"The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines is not against Charter change. We're against the timing," Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Yñiguez, head of CBCP's commission on public affairs, told ABS-CBN's morning show, "Umagang Kay Ganda."
Deogracias said Malacañang's timing for the revival of its Charter change call creates a negative perception.
He said Filipinos should become more discerning and carefully study the latest developments on the charter change issue. He said charter change is again being pushed by people with different and "not so good" motives.
Yñiguez's statement followed CBCP president Archbishop Angel Lagdameo's declaration that any moves to amend the 1987 Constitution should be made after 2010.
"Let the next administration do it," Lagdameo said.
Yñiguez said Lagdameo's statement represents the sentiments of the whole CBCP as he is the organization's president.
He supported Lagdameo's clarification that the CBCP is not against any moves to amend the Constitution.
"Amending the Constitution is something that should happen. There is no such thing as a perfect constitution," Yñiguez said.
In a statement released Thursday, Lagdameo said any change in the Constitution should be done through a constitutional convention.
He said this has been the CBCP's stand even before President Arroyo came into power.
“The people should take part in the discernment and carefully examine the situation and find out whether there’s really a need to change the constitution,” Lagdameo said.
He said the CBCP's Permanent Council has not discussed the latest Charter change moves of Malacañang.
"Although individual bishops may discuss and conduct prayer rallies calling for more transparency in government," he said.
The charter change issue came back in the headlines this week after Press Secretary Jesus Dureza announced that Malacañang is throwing support to the Senate's Joint Resolution 10, which was authored by federalism advocate Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr.
On Thursday, Sen. Rodolfo Biazon withdrew his support for the resolution. He said sees "danger signs" with Malacañang throwing of support for the resolution.
Biazon added that he has become worried by pro-administration congressmen's statements that efforts to amend the constitution should not be limited to the shift from presidential to federalism.
