Bishop Cruz: Arroyo should resign now

DAGUPAN CITY — Principal jueteng whistle-blower Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz joined the opposition in calling for President Arroyo to resign and urged the embattled Chief Executive to concentrate more on her family.

Cruz said the resignation of Mrs. Arroyo would be good for the country and her family.

"It’s both a sacrifice and a winning solution for the sake of their peace of mind, for the sake of family," he said.

If Mrs. Arroyo resigns now, that is the "ultimate" sacrifice she can make, Cruz said.

"There’s life after the presidency and the family is bigger than the presidency," he said

Cruz said "it is not fair" that Mrs. Arroyo’s husband, First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, had to go into self-exile and that her son, Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo, had "to be disowned."

The President’s eldest son went on leave from his office until the jueteng allegations facing him could be settled.

Cruz had presented several witnesses before the Senate who linked the two Arroyos, along with the President’s brother-in-law, Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo, to alleged monthly payoffs from illegal gambling operators.

The claims of witnesses in the jueteng hearings preceded a slew of accusations from the opposition that Mrs. Arroyo had ordered a senior election official to rig last year’s presidential vote over the "Gloriagate" wiretapped recordings.

"Consequently, whereas she (Mrs. Arroyo) is being maligned, being insulted, left and right, she’s being made a suspect left and right, she’s losing credibility, she should resign," Cruz said.

"It’s possible that she won and consequently she stays in office, but people don’t trust her anymore. I think she should resign," Cruz said.

Cruz claimed Mrs. Arroyo failed to accomplish her mission to unify the people, clean up the electoral process and increase social development.

If those in the Arroyo administration would like to undergo the ordeal of an impeachment trial, staying in office "is the better option according to law, but to quit or to resign is also not a bad option," he said.

The former president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said he, too, would resign if he were no longer effective in doing his job as archbishop of Lingayen and Dagupan City or if the people no longer trusted him.

"We bishops are also like that. We have tenure of office (and) if the people don’t trust us anymore, if the people don’t accept us anymore, therefore I’m more of an impediment than an asset to be a pastor of the people that I have to lead, then I have to resign," he said.

Cruz made the statement in reaction to the collective call of the National Secretariat for Social Action-Justice and Peace (NASSA) that Mrs. Arroyo should be allowed to finish her term of office.

The NASSA, part of Caritas Philippines, also said Mrs. Arroyo should honor her promise "to make amends."

The CBCP also slammed what it called a political ploy against Mrs. Arroyo and her administration. They said some politicians eager for media exposure and calling for the President to resign "continue to plunder our moral sensitivities, disregard our higher values of statesmanship, love for country, due process and constitutional law."