CBCP still studying if it will join truth commission

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said yesterday it is still considering the possibility of joining the proposed truth commission.

"We will think about it and we will mull about it. There were instances before when bishops and priests became members of fact finding committees. But basically, these (committees) are just recommendatory and advisory," said CBCP secretary-general Monsignor Hernando Coronel.

A truth commission is being proposed to recount election returns nationwide following allegations that President Arroyo committed electoral fraud to ensure her victory in last year’s elections.

Coronel admitted a truth commission is viewed as weak in contrast to other non-violent options of resignation and impeachment, both of which are also being supported by the CBCP.

"We have consulted moral theologians on these non-violent options. What if the President does not resign? In a truth commission, the problem is that it is just an advisory and recommendatory body. Impeachment meanwhile is a political process," said Coronel.

However, he noted that the findings of a truth commission could pave the way for the start of an impeachment process against the President.

"Impeachment is a political but an executory process. Something will happen. There will be a sentencing and a declaration of innocence or guilt. The truth commission is just recommendatory so at one point, the commission will have to revert to an impeachment process," the CBCP official said.

"Once it gets its findings, the truth commission will lay the groundwork for an impeachment process," he noted.

Coronel said bishops have been invited in the past to join fact-finding commissions, but they declined and instead sent their priests.

Even outgoing CBCP president Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla received such invitation concerning a probe on the alleged summary killings in Davao City. A priest, instead, was sent in lieu of Capalla, he said.

Earlier, the Bishops-Businessmen’s Conference (BBC) gave its support to the formation of a truth commission in the face of calls for the resignation of Mrs. Arroyo.

In its position paper entitled "The Truth Shall Set You Free," the BBC sided with the CBCP in dismissing calls for the President’s resignation. It instead called on the President to immediately call for the creation of a truth commission.

"The BBC chooses for the moment to suspend judgment on her culpability and her ability to govern. We thus urge her to initiate the operation and formation of a truth commission, with members to be selected by and from among a group of eminent persons held in high public esteem," the BBC statement said.

The BBC also urged the President to announce the formation of the truth commission before or during her State of the Nation Address on July 25.