Palace assures Vatican on RP situation

Malacañang has assured the Vatican that the country’s political malaise will end once President Arroyo is installed as the new president.

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye expressed confidence that the bickering that reached its peak during the campaign and canvassing period will soon pass.

"We acknowledge the concern of the Vatican over our political controversies. But we assure the Church and the international community that this is a transient situation that will set itself aright as the proclamation and inauguration take place," he said.

Bunye was reacting to a report from Bishop Ramon Arguelles, outgoing military ordinate, on the concern of Pope John Paul II over events in the Philippines, described as the third largest Roman Catholic nation.

"If we are a Catholic nation and we show un-Catholic and un-Christian attitudes, then we are bad Catholics," Arguelles said. The slow pace of the canvassing of votes for president and vice president has put the country in a bad light around the world.

Bunye said that the support of Filipinos for "democratic stability and the rule of law" and "President Arroyo’s new and strong mandate will see this nation through these tough and challenging times."

But Bunye’s rosy outlook was challenged by Caloocan bishop Deogracias Iñiguez, chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) permanent committee on public affairs.

Iñiguez confessed both his pleasant surprise at the end of the canvassing of votes on Sunday and his fears of "more drama coming up."

"At least the process dictated by the Constitution seems to have arrived at a conclusion and so we can continue to run as a nation according to the rule of law," he said. "Let us hope that it’s the end. But if we try to go deeper into what happened before this canvassing and during canvassing, I feel there will be more drama coming up."

Iñiguez – who was in Tuguegaro, Cagayan, for the quadricentennial of the Our Lady of Piat – urged the losers to accept their defeat graciously.

"As in any fight, there will always be those who win and those who lose. They just have to recognize that after doing all they could, this is the result," he said. "Let us just hope for the sake of order in our country they will look more deeply in considering the options they have."

Echoing the official CBCP position, Iñiguez said he saw "nothing" in the conduct of the May 10 elections "to object strongly about." — with Jose Aravilla