Cebu City IBP officers ask Arroyo to resign

CEBU CITY — Saying she has lost public confidence and the moral capability to govern the nation, the Cebu City chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) is calling for the resignation of President Arroyo amid the scandals rocking her administration.

In a resolution, at least nine of the 15 local IBP officers urged Mrs. Arroyo to step down to pave the way for an independent body to investigate the "Gloriagate" tapes.

The IBP officials said Mrs. Arroyo’s admission that it was her voice in the wiretapped conversations with a Commission on Elections (Comelec) official only showed that she was "giving tacit approval to the commission of electoral frauds just to win the presidency."

The lawyers said Mrs. Arroyo’s acts were clearly a breach of her oath of office and a betrayal of public trust, which are both impeachable offenses.

They said the President’s apology lacked sincerity, having been made only after a long reflection, deliberation and study.

"Lamentably, her apology did not unearth the truth necessary to regain national stability," they said.

The "Gloriagate" scandal has caused public instability as well as political, economic and social unrest, loss of respect for the presidency as shown by deriding jokes and mockery of Mrs. Arroyo, they added.

The lawyers believe that the President’s acts were not mere lapses of "good judgment" because they created an impression that Philippine elections were a farce, that her electoral victory was designed, mapped out and decided not by popular will, but by the people holding the reins of power.

Among those who signed the resolution were IBP Cebu City chapter president Alex Tolentino, Michelle Geraldine Mendez, Wilbert Dumon, Kit Enriquez, Allan Ouano, Bethuel Tanupan, Gloria Lastimosa-Dalawampu, Democrito Barcenas, and Annabel Pulvera.

Meanwhile, over 200 members of Sanlakas, Akbayan, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino and their allied militant organizations held protest actions here the other day to seek Mrs. Arroyo’s ouster.

On the other hand, student council leaders and other organizations from different colleges and universities in Cebu have formed an alliance calling for the resignation of Mrs. Arroyo. — Freeman News Service