Bishops ask president to resign
Facing corruption charges

As President Joseph Estrada prepared to stand trial on corruption charges before the country’s Senate in December, the Catholic bishops of the Philippines urged him to spare the country from further trauma by resigning. In a statement issued at the end of November, Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, the president of the bishops’ conference, said: “There is a common position of the bishops concerning the request for President Estrada’s resignation. For the sake of the common good, the president should step down.” The statement came in reaction to reports that the bishops were divided in their stand towards the president.

Answering reporters’ questions, Archbishop Quevedo conceded that there were differences of opinion among the bishops as to what should happen if Estrada refused to resign. Cardinal Jaime Sin of Manila supported massive public protests, designed to force a presidential resignation. Other bishops preferred formal impeachment action.

However, all of the bishops were in agreement that the president should leave office, Archbishop Quevedo said. “The Church and state must work together for the common good,” the archbishop said, adding that “the president has failed to do this. The Church therefore is calling on the rest of the government to act according to their conscience and for the sake of the common good.”

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