Catholic bishops in Philippines speak of imprisonment fears
-03/03/06
Archbishop Oscar
Catholic bishops in Philippines speak of imprisonment fears
-03/03/06
Archbishop Oscar Cruz has said that he and three other Catholic bishops were fearful of arrest under a state of emergency declared by Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
The President has now lifted the week-old state of emergency, after her security advisers assured her that the threat of a coup has eased.
She made the announcement in a nationally televised address.
Arroyo declared the emergency last Friday to quash a coup plot allegedly involving disgruntled soldiers, communist rebels and civilian backers.
But opposition and civil activists and church leaders have warned that political freedoms continue to be eroded.
Authorities have filed criminal charges against at least 51 opposition members, military personnel and others for trying to overthrow the president. They include five left-wing lawmakers who sought refugee at the House of Representatives and refused to be interviewed by police.
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Civil libertarians, lawyers, businessmen and media groups have expressed concerns over a string of warrantless arrests, a ban on rallies and a raid on a critical newspaper.
“I am happy to report that we have dismantled the sabotage efforts,” Arroyo said in a nationally televised address. “I strongly believe that law and order has returned.”
“It is important for our political opponents and the opportunists to stop this nuisance to our economy and embarrassment to the Philippines caused by these useless charades.”
Former Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president Oscar Cruz said that bishops are also greatly concerned about the way that the President has acted. In a telephone interview on Wednesday, he said that he had received information from a source, that Catholic bishops might also face arrest.
He declined to name three other bishops who were also under threat but said they are from Luzon and, like him, were known critics of the Arroyo administration.
Cruz, quoting his source, said the bishops would be charged with plotting to overthrow the administration.
He said he learned about the plan to arrest him on Monday and decided to inform reporters about it on the advice of his friends.
But he said he did not feel he was in danger nor was he afraid to be arrested.
ìI have long been afraid,î the bishop said in jest.
Cruz presented witnesses to last yearís Senate investigation which linked members of Ms Arroyoís family to election fraud.
The Catholic Bishopsí Conference of the Philippines had called for a ‘relentless search for truth’ concerning the results of the 2004 elections.
ìThe moral legitimacy of the one holding the presidential office remains in doubt and therefore in question,î Cruz has said.
In all the criticisms coming from the Church hierarchy, clergy, consistent with Catholic teaching, have repeatedly rejected any form of violence as a way of resolving the political standoff.
Church leaders from around the world have said that the majority of the Filipino people have yet to enjoy what the Gospel calls ìlife in all its fullnessî. Poverty, political repression and other degradations are the daily plight of the majority of the 85 million Filipinos.
Catholic bishops in Philippines speak of imprisonment fears
-03/03/06
Archbishop Oscar Cruz has said that he and three other Catholic bishops were fearful of arrest under a state of emergency declared by Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
The President has now lifted the week-old state of emergency, after her security advisers assured her that the threat of a coup has eased.
She made the announcement in a nationally televised address.
Arroyo declared the emergency last Friday to quash a coup plot allegedly involving disgruntled soldiers, communist rebels and civilian backers.
But opposition and civil activists and church leaders have warned that political freedoms continue to be eroded.
Authorities have filed criminal charges against at least 51 opposition members, military personnel and others for trying to overthrow the president. They include five left-wing lawmakers who sought refugee at the House of Representatives and refused to be interviewed by police.
Related Articles
Civil libertarians, lawyers, businessmen and media groups have expressed concerns over a string of warrantless arrests, a ban on rallies and a raid on a critical newspaper.
“I am happy to report that we have dismantled the sabotage efforts,” Arroyo said in a nationally televised address. “I strongly believe that law and order has returned.”
“It is important for our political opponents and the opportunists to stop this nuisance to our economy and embarrassment to the Philippines caused by these useless charades.”
Former Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president Oscar Cruz said that bishops are also greatly concerned about the way that the President has acted. In a telephone interview on Wednesday, he said that he had received information from a source, that Catholic bishops might also face arrest.
He declined to name three other bishops who were also under threat but said they are from Luzon and, like him, were known critics of the Arroyo administration.
Cruz, quoting his source, said the bishops would be charged with plotting to overthrow the administration.
He said he learned about the plan to arrest him on Monday and decided to inform reporters about it on the advice of his friends.
But he said he did not feel he was in danger nor was he afraid to be arrested.
ìI have long been afraid,î the bishop said in jest.
Cruz presented witnesses to last yearís Senate investigation which linked members of Ms Arroyoís family to election fraud.
The Catholic Bishopsí Conference of the Philippines had called for a ‘relentless search for truth’ concerning the results of the 2004 elections.
ìThe moral legitimacy of the one holding the presidential office remains in doubt and therefore in question,î Cruz has said.
In all the criticisms coming from the Church hierarchy, clergy, consistent with Catholic teaching, have repeatedly rejected any form of violence as a way of resolving the political standoff.
Church leaders from around the world have said that the majority of the Filipino people have yet to enjoy what the Gospel calls ìlife in all its fullnessî. Poverty, political repression and other degradations are the daily plight of the majority of the 85 million Filipinos.