Manila, Philippines, Feb 27, 2008 / 21:43 pm
The Catholic bishops of the Philippines have stopped short of calling for the resignation of the country’s president, but instead urged her to allow officials to assist inquiries into a massive corruption scandal involving her husband.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and some cabinet members have faced harsh criticism after allegations of corruption in a now-canceled program to build a national broadband network.
Rodolfo Lozada, a former government consultant, testified before a Senate committee on February 8. He claimed a Chinese telecommunications company’s $329 million broadband service contract contained $130 million in kickbacks. Lozada implicated the former head of the election commission, Benjamin Abalos Sr., and President Arroyo’s husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, among others.
The Philippines Conference of Catholic Bishops convened an emergency meeting on Tuesday to determine their response to the crisis.