|
THE influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the
Philippines (CBCP) on Wednesday rallied behind one of their members
who is now a subject of an arrest warrant issued by a Manila
Regional Trial Court.
A warrant of arrest was issued
against Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz in connection with
the libel case filed by employees of the Philippine Amusement and
Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) four years ago.
Several Roman Catholic bishops
have been demanding a fair treatment of Cruz’s libel case that was
revived early last month by the Department of Justice.
“We would like to express our
solidarity with Archbishop Cruz,” said CBCP President and Jaro
Archbishop Angel Lagdameo in a statement posted at the CBCP website.
The Jaro archbishop said the CBCP
has not yet discussed the legal entanglement of Bishop Cruz, but
said this concern would be brought up with the country’s canon
lawyers.
“They [canon lawyers] will be
the one who will give us advice [on Cruz’s case],” Lagdameo
said.
The Pangasinan prelate on his
part expressed no surprise over the speed and audacity of the
issuance of the warrant of arrest after the libel was dismissed.
Judge Antonio Rosales of Manila
RTC Branch 52 issued the warrant of arrest against the Pangasinan
prelate on Tuesday and recommended a P10,000 bond for his liberty.
The libel case stemmed from an
article by the archbishop alleging that female Pagcor employees
served as “pitiful GROs” during a birthday bash for President
Gloria Arroyo’s husband, lawyer Jose Miguel Arroyo, in 2004.
The female Pagcor employees said
they were hurt when the Archbishop depicted them as “GROs” and
demanded an apology from the prelate.
--Anthony Vargas
|
