Palace welcomes election of new CBCP head

Malacañang welcomed yesterday the election of Davao City Archbishop Fernando Capalla as the new president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

"We wish him well in his new position," President Arroyo’s spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.

Capalla, 67, assumed the post amid sex scandals rocking the Roman Catholic Church, involving Antiplo Bishop Crisostomo Yalung and Novaliches Bishop Teodoro Bacani Jr.

Yalung resigned as Antipolo bishop and has since been working as a librarian in the Vatican while Bacani is still under investigation by the Vatican which has temporarily named a papal administrator to the newly created diocese.

Capalla is a vocal supporter of peace talks between the government and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Both sides said they were trying to restart negotiations, suspended in 2001.

CBCP elections are held about 10 months before the Philippines’ presidential elections, in which the Catholic Church plays an influential role. Next year’s presidential elections are set on May 10.

Last week, Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin told First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, who visited his Mandaluyong residence, that he was encouraging the President to seek a new term.

Bunye yesterday defended Sin from criticism that he was meddling in politics. "Everyone has the right to express his or her own views, and an archbishop should not be deprived of his right to express his own opinion just because he is a priest."

Bunye earlier said Sin’s encouragement would not make Mrs. Arroyo change her mind about withdrawing from the race.

In a move that stunned the nation on Dec. 30, Mrs. Arroyo announced she was withdrawing from the polls so she could avoid political distractions and concentrate on revitalizing the sluggish economy during her remaining months in office.

Many believe Mrs. Arroyo withdrew because her popularity has been on the wane since she assumed the presidency after a military-backed popular uprising in January 2001 toppled Joseph Estrada, now on trial on plunder charges.

Last Wednesday Mrs. Arroyo’s chief of staff Rigoberto Tiglao told a television talk show that the President may run in next year’s presidential election if the "national interest" calls for it.