Shaddai: Principled cooperation, not CPR

"Principled cooperation" between leaders is what is needed to attain political stability, not the government’s calibrated preemptive response, or CPR , according to Catholic charismatic leader Mike Velarde who joined in the criticism of the controversial rally-dispersal tactic.

Velarde, who supported President Arroyo in last year’s election and endorsed her to millions of his El Shaddai followers, believes that the CPR only aggravates the country’s current situation.

"The CPR… is not a deterrence to further street demonstrations but instead adds fuel to the present political instability," Velarde said in a statement.

Following last Friday’s dispersal of a prayer march and rally near the Chino Roces Bridge in Manila, Velarde called on leaders of both the administration and opposition to arrive at a "principled cooperation."

"I am encouraging all concerned leaders on both sides to come to the conference table to fashion a principled cooperation for the sake of our suffering people and for the survival of our democratic institutions," he said.

Stressing the need to defuse the worsening political situation, Velarde also said leaders from other sectors should "use their influence to bring sanity to our troubled political conditions."

This can be done, he said, if religious, businessmen and academe leaders "set aside personal interests and partisan considerations."

Protesters have been challenging the CPR since the President announced the policy three weeks ago. This has resulted in clashes, sometimes bloody, between protesters and the police.

Last Friday, police stopped the group of former Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr. and two bishops from proceeding to San Sebastian College past Mendiola Bridge leading to Malacañang.

Velarde condemned the dispersal, saying "the suppression of prayer rallies led by responsible religious leaders is a clear sign of disrespect to the faith and beliefs" of people.

This "must not be tolerated by the faithful and the people regardless of religious affiliation," he stressed.

The Catholic Church’s election watchdog also criticized the anti-rally tactic, as it joined groups calling on Mrs. Arroyo to reconsider implementation of the CPR.

Describing Friday’s rally dispersal as an "unwarranted degradation of the Church hierarchy," the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) echoed opposition sentiments that the incident sends a strong signal that the present administration is "not far from implementing oppressive policies."

"If police could execute CPR on notable Church leaders, then what possible reason would they have of not doing it to ordinary citizens of this country?" said the PPCRV, which comprises eight bishops.

The PPCRV said it is calling on members of the Catholic Church and other related organizations "to publicly denounce this occurrence and to factor in this event in their ongoing reflection of the political condition of our motherland."

PPCRV chairman Antonio Ventosa said their group has begun to doubt the motives of the Arroyo administration in implementing CPR: "Public opinion can only be intimidating to a leader when truth is its handmaid."

Agreeing with the stand of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Ventosa added that the government should initiate dialogue with opponents to achieve its elusive goal of unity because "there can never be dialectics when a person with a constructive opposing view is padlocked in solitude."

"National reconciliation and healing is realized through critical solidarity and discourse, and not in the deprivation of one’s right to free speech. Governance is not just about speaking but about listening as well," he said.

At the Senate, an opposition lawmaker said Friday’s dispersal with water hoses was "uncalled for" as he noted protesters had been trying to negotiate with policemen at the time.

Sen. Alfredo Lim, a former police general who served as chief of the then Western Police District, said police should be negotiating with rallyists even before the protest action takes place.

"This is why protesters are asked to secure a permit five days before their scheduled rally to meet with authorities and discuss measures to prevent violence," Lim said.

He explained that meetings prior to a rally would enable parties to prevent violence and lessen public disruption.

"If protesters don’t agree to move to another venue, police could at least reroute traffic so motorists won’t be affected," he added.

‘PNP criminally liable’

An organization of lawyers, meanwhile, slammed the Philippine National Police (PNP) for what it called the "violent dispersal of a peaceful procession" last Friday.

According to the Counsels for the Defense of Liberties (CODAL), the police action not only violated the participants’ constitutional rights but also made National Capital Region Police Office chief Director Vidal Querol and other PNP officers "criminally liable under the Revised Penal Code."

In a statement, CODAL organizer lawyer Neri Colmenares said the police violated Article 132 of the Revised Penal Code with the interruption of religious worship.

"The penalty of prison… shall be imposed upon any public officer or employee who shall prevent or disturb the ceremonies or manifestations of any religion," Colmenares said.

"They (the PNP) also trampled on Article 133, or the offending of religious feelings," Colmenares added.

"Hosing down the religious procession including the statue of the Virgin Mary is most notoriously offensive to Catholics, an act no other Philippine president except President Arroyo has committed," Colmenares said.

CODAL likewise pointed out the "procession" had a permit "and was peaceful until the police obstructed the assembly and later trained their water cannons on the participants."

Lim, for his part, said the rally dispersal was virtually in violation of Batas Pambansa 880, or the law governing protest rallies.

"It has always been a rule that dispersal should only be applied if protesters become violent and unruly. The rally last Friday was peaceful," he noted.

The opposition senator also hit Manila Police District (MPD) director Chief Superintedent Pedro Bulaong for not personally supervising his men during the negotiation.

"He should have been there to lead negotiation. The violent dispersal could have been prevented under his order," Lim said.

Bulaong earlier admitted that the response of his men during the rally took him by surprise. He immediately ordered an investigation into the incident.

Using water cannons, the MPD anti-riot unit dispersed the participants of the rally led by Bishops Deogracias Iñigez of Caloocan, Antonio Tobias of Novaliches, and Julio Labayen of Infanta, including former Vice President Teofisto Guingona and Sen. Jamby Madrigal near Mendiola Bridge.

Lim also said that police should protect the protesters and maintain peace and order. "But this is no longer the case now. Police and militants have become combatant and treat each other as enemies."

Lim lamented that the rules of BP 880 are being ignored, including the positioning of police operatives some 100 meters away from the protesters.

The senator has attributed these lapses in implementing BP 880 to ignorance of the law by policemen.

Lim admitted there was "misunderstanding on the interpretation of the law" but at the same time insisted there is no provision in BP880 that allows CPR.

"Section 3 only allows maximum tolerance. If they want CPR, they should revise the law," he said.