Bishops turn down government invite to attend election meeting
Manila (AsiaNews) – The head of the of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday rejected an invitation by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to attend a summit to prepare for the election, saying there was “no need for it if everyone is committed to ensuring credible, honest and peaceful elections”.
Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, CBCP president, said: “If all are committed to this, it is not necessary to have a summit to just say so. Let each make the promise to God with an honest conscience.”
Comelec (Commission on Elections), the election watchdogs, the national police and all political parties will be represented at the meeting organised by Manila, which aims to draw up a plan of action for the upcoming local elections slated for 14 May and to avoid fraud and vote-buying scandals.
Mgr Lagdameo said: “We do not need to participate because in a document we published after the General Assembly of Bishops, we invited our social action centers, parishes, institutions, and basic ecclesiastical communities to mobilise.”
Between them, these groups “will form a united network with the scope of cleaning up the dirt from our electoral process. They will show this in deeds more than simply in words and they will do this before God.”
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