Opposition steps up GMA quit call

Opposition groups, including several Roman Catholic bishops, stepped up the call for President Arroyo’s resignations over vote-rigging allegations yesterday.

Hundreds of anti-Arroyo protesters — led by opposition leaders, militant leaders and several bishops — gathered at Quezon Memorial Circle yesterday and launched the "Silent Majority Prayer Movement" a day after the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) recommended that the "search for truth" in the electoral fraud allegations hounding Mrs. Arroyo should be "relentlessly pursued."

But the CBCP warned against using violence or measures outside the law.

Notably missing from yesterday’s Quezon City rally were protest placards and streamers.

Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel said the CBCP statement Sunday was "very inspiring" as it was a "very significant signal from an influential institution."

"The people should respond to the call of the silent majority for people to now gather together to pursue insistently for the truth," she told reporters.

Father Joe Dizon, leader of the Gloria Step Down! Movement, said that the prayer rally is a good venue to enlighten the people on issues concerning the administration.

"We are already sure of the mercy of God. So what we are all... waiting for is the action of the people," Dizon said.

And while some appeared content with the latest CBCP statement, others still found it lacking bite.

Dizon said that the CBCP statement still lacked a "moral judgment on this government."

Former Vice President Teosfisto Guingona Jr. echoed the sentiment of Dizon on the CBCP statement, even hinting that the bishops could have issued a "much stronger" call, such as urging Mrs. Arroyo to step down.

"The search for truth through prayer is what we are doing," Guingona said. "Arroyo should now confess in order to resolve the doubts and uncertainties we have in this country today."

The group believes the CBCP’s position is likely to change in the near future if Mrs. Arroyo fails to heed the call of the so-called "silent majority."

They also believe that Mrs. Arroyo will come under increasing pressure following the CBCP statement.