Manila, Philippines, Mar 6, 2008 / 00:45 am
Archbishop of Cotabato Orlando B. Quevedo has denied media reports of a “divided hierarchy” and accusations that Philippines bishops from the nation’s major southern island of Mindanao have “saved” President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo by influencing the bishops’ response to a massive corruption scandal.
President Arroyo and certain cabinet members have faced allegations of corruption in a now-canceled program to build a national broadband network.
At an emergency meeting on February 26, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) addressed the corruption scandal with a general call for reform of the government and society. The statement lacked a specific condemnation of President Arroyo, which would have increased pressure for her to resign.
In a statement to be published by The Mindanao Cross, Archbishop Quevedo said the report of a split within the bishops’ conference was “absolutely false.” According to the archbishop, of the more than fifty archbishops and bishops voting at the February 26 meeting, a plurality came from Luzon, less than twenty came from Mindanao, and a few also came from the Visayas.