CBCP to EDSA rallyists: Get out!

Stop the rape of the Virgin.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) called on supporters of jailed former pre-sident Joseph Estrada yesterday to look for another venue for their so-called people power 3 now being held at the Our Lady of EDSA Shrine in Ortigas, which has reportedly been desecrated and vandalized.

"Let us respect the sacredness of the place where the statue of Our Lady of Peace stands," CBCP spokesman Msgr. Hernando Coronel said.

Meanwhile, stalwarts of people power II are reconvening at the UP Chapel in Diliman, Quezon City today to underscore their support for the arrest of Estrada.

"People Power II was not the end of our struggle. We have to continue fighting for justice, and show the rest of our countrymen that justice can be served even on the big fish," said Marie Guingona, daughter of vice President Teofisto Guingona and one of the organizers of the Up gathering.

Text messages urging EDSA veterans to proceed to UP today flooded mobile phones yesterday.

Guingona said the UP gathering, which will be highlighted by a 12 noon mass, does not intend to start a contest of numbers with Estrada supporters who have gathered at the EDSA Shrine.

"No, not at all. We just want to continue what we have started at EDSA II. We should not go back to our old ways, the way we did after we overthrew Marcos in 1986," she said.

Other rally organizers are Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office director Linggoy Alcuaz and street parliamentarian Tess Baltazar.

Coronel said the roof of the EDSA Shrine has been damaged and a flag of the Vatican was missing. "We do not know what happened to the Vatican flag," he said.

The marker of the Holy Ground, which bears the brief histories of the first two uprisings, was reportedly turned into a "dump site."

"There are heaps of garbage all around," Coronel said.

The CBCP spokesman said it pained Church leaders to see demonstrators perching themselves on the statue and desecrating it with streamers.

For his part, Monsignor Socrates Villegas, Archdiocese of Manila spokesman and rector of the shrine, said the Church was not only appalled by the vandalism but by the foul language and obscene songs of the rallyists.

Church leaders called on the Philippine National Police (PNP) to evict the thousands of angry rallyists who had gathered there since Wednesday night to demand the release of their fallen leader.

Coronel expressed concern over the reported desecration of the historic shrine.

Malacañang likewise called on the pro-Estrada crowd to spare the hallowed grounds from desecration and appealed to opposition candidates from using the rally to further their own political interests.

But Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said the Arroyo administration would not order any dispersal at this time.

"Ultra-maximum tolerance will be observed," Tiglao said.

The EDSA Shrine, which features a large bronze statue of the Virgin Mary, was put up as a memorial to the first people power revolution that ousted former President Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. It has been declared a "Holy Ground" by the Vatican.

People power 2, a similarly bloodless uprising that ousted Estrada, began with a gathering at the shrine last January. The first people power uprisings had the backing of the Catholic Church and the military.

Members of the Manila clergy have met with police officials to discuss ways of dealing with the unruly crowd.

Monsignor Villegas warned rallyists that they would have to face law enforcers if they do not heed the Church’s call for sobriety.

"I am appealing to our brothers and sisters rallying in EDSA to respect the sacredness of the shrine. It is a place for worship and prayer — a symbol of the Catholic faith," Villegas said.

He said continued rejection of their calls for reverence leaves the Church no choice but to seek help from law enforcers "to preserve the right of the people to pray in peace and live the Christian faith."

"The rallyists said they are merely invoking their freedom of expression, but what about our right to private property, our right to exercise beliefs and convictions?" Villegas asked.

He said Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin is extremely bothered by the activities at the shrine.

"The Cardinal is very, very said," Villegas said. - With Marichu Villanueva