Corona impeachment might be taken up in CBCP assembly

MANILA, Philippines - An official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday said the ongoing impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona might be taken up during their 104th Plenary Assembly this weekend.

“I think the bishops would definitely talk about this issue. But on whether this would be included as part of the agenda, that remains to be seen,” said CBCP Public Affairs Committee chairman Kalookan Bishop Deogracias Iniguez.

It has been customary for the Catholic prelates to take up “other matters” such as national issues in their plenary assembly after all the episcopal commissions under the CBCP have given their operation reports. 

The biannual gathering of the bishops happens every January and July at the Pope Pius XII Center along United Nations Avenue in Manila.

Iniguez said that while he doubts that all the bishops are able to monitor the daily proceedings in the impeachment trial, “I am sure that they are aware and they are interested.”

“There might be some bishops who are already thinking on what they could do in connection with this,” he said.

He added that it would be good if they would be able to discuss the relevance and significance of the impeachment.

For his part, retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, who also served as CBCP president for four years, believes they might issue a statement on the impeachment but “it will be very moderate in tone.”

On the other hand, former CBCP president Iloilo Archbishop Angel Lagdameo has a different view.

He doubts that discussion of the impeachment case against Corona would be part of the plenary’s agenda since it is more a government initiative and not the church’s.

He also doubts that the CBCP would issue a statement about it “because it is very political.”