Palace: Bishops should join calls for truth

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang yesterday said the interference of some bishops in the ongoing impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona is out of line, adding that everyone is expected to respect the process and religious leaders should join calls for the truth to come out.

Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles said the impeachment trial of Corona has nowhere to go and must therefore be stopped.

Arguelles alleged that the senator-judges were only seeking media mileage.

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president Jose Palma also asked senator-judges in the impeachment trial to respect the Supreme Court (SC) order stopping them from scrutinizing Corona’s foreign currency deposit accounts.

Retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz earlier expressed support for Corona as well and said he was curious as to how the senator-judges would cast their votes at the end of the trial and if party alliances would influence their judgment.

“That’s (impeachment) a constitutional solution. It may not be a biblical solution to his perspective, but a constitutional solution when it comes to impeaching or removing government officials. So it’s unfortunate that Bishop Arguelles is only speaking now. When there was a call to come out with a truth, where was Bishop Arguelles?” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

“I was waiting for him to rally the people, to (ask for the truth) to be bared, for the dollar deposits to be opened… the bank deposits, because it is very clear that there is a discrepancy between the SALN (statements of assets, liabilities and net worth) and the (properties and accounts of Corona) discovered during the trial,” he said.

“Where is Bishop Arguelles? Where is Oscar Cruz when there were calls for truth to come out? Isn’t the Church for the truth? Where are they? Instead they are asking to stop the process which is enshrined in the Constitution,” Lacierda added.

The Palace also hinted earlier that it is finding it hard to believe that Catholic bishops have taken the side of the defense team in the Corona impeachment, opting to favor the blocking of the opening of his dollar accounts. – Delon Porcalla, Perseus Echeminada, Sandy Araneta