Philippine bishops issue statement condemning culture of corruption

Published: 2008-02-27

MANILA, Philippines (CNS) -- Following their special Feb. 26 meeting on the corruption crisis President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's administration is facing, the Philippine Catholic bishops issued a statement condemning the "culture of corruption" and recommending steps to fight it. In the statement, issued at an evening press conference, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines urged Arroyo and the government to lead the fight against corruption, reported the Asian church news agency UCA News. "We come to you as pastors, for that is our precise role," the bishops said. "We do not come as politicians whose vocation it is to order society toward the common good." The bishops called on Arroyo to allow her subordinates to testify on the aborted national broadband network deal involving a Chinese company and recommended that she rescind a 2005 executive order restricting such testimony. The executive order requires heads of departments to secure the president's permission to appear at congressional hearings.

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