Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra yesterday called on the public to join a “Mass for Truth” at the San Sebastian Cathedral at 5:15 p.m. tomorrow to be followed by a via crucis around the Bacolod public plaza in support of Senate witness Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada who has exposed corruption in government.

The bishop while calling on the people to join the crusade for good governance and the cleaning up of government of unworthy officials, stopped short of calling for the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The Church is just an energizer in the campaign against corruption, a call for the resignation of the President will not come from the Church, and any such initiative should come from the people, Navarra said.

Should the truth fully come out and the Filipino people decide that she is unworthy of her office, we will have to abide with the stand of the people, he said.

But the bishop stressed that the Church does not espouse violent protests.

Rallies against the Arroyo administration are also set in other parts of the country tomorrow.

Negros Occidental Acting Gov. Isidro Zayco said the people are free to air their sentiments as long as it is done in a peaceful and orderly manner.

NEGROS OFFICIALS FOR ARROYO

So far, our Negros officials continue to support the Arroyo administration, Zayco said, noting that the country's economy continues to improve.

Navarra said he hopes the “Mass for Truth” being initiated in the Diocese of Bacolod will have a ripple effect that will catch fire in other parts of the country.

Our main objective is to touch the conscience of the people, he said.

The Diocese of Bacolod fully supports Lozada in his decision to tell the truth about the anomalous NBN-ZTE deal, Navarra said.

Lozada's revelations, based on his personal knowledge of and involvement in the transaction, has confirmed once and for all allegations of corrupt practices in the Arroyo government, he said.

“We call on the President not to stand in the way of finding the truth and allow the process to continue to its conclusion,” Navarra said in a statement of the Diocese of Bacolod in support of Lozada.

‘COME OUT AND TELL'

The bishop also urged Secretary Romulo Neri and other government officials who have knowledge of anomalous government transactions to come out and tell the whole truth.

At the same time, he called on the people to be vigilant and help ferret out the truth against corruption by praying and supporting Lozada, and joining the “Mass for Truth.”

“We express our concern for the safety and welfare of Jun Lozada, his life, including that of his family. He lost his job. The people he named in his testimony are planning to file charges against him and he is worried about the expenses of litigation,” Navarra said.

“Let us not let Lozada carry the cross alone for us, as a people we must confront evil,” he said.

RIGHT OVER WRONG

“Trusting in the efficacy of God's word, we are confident that with Jun Lozada supported by our communal action what is right will triumph over what is wrong,” Navarra said.

Navarra said he personally believes that there really is graft and corruption in government and there is much poverty around us now because of misuse of public funds that should be used for the alleviation of poverty.

Navarra was joined in a press conference yesterday afternoon by Fr. Felix Pasquin, Diocese Commissioner on Mass Media, Fr. Aniceto Buenafe, Diocese Social Action Director, and human rights lawyer Francisco Cruz.

The mass for truth is a first step, depending on the development of events, Buenafe said. If we see that there is an obstruction of truth we may take a different form of protest, he said.

CULTURE OF CORRUPTION

Pasquin said the fight against corruption is everybody's concern and the Church has to do what is right and expected of it, according to its prophetic role.

There is really a culture of corruption in our country, Cruz said, citing the fertilizer scam, the national broadband deal, the pork barrel allowances, the payola for congressmen and governors, and what he called presidential junkets involving travels abroad of congressmen, senators, and other freeloaders.

You can just imagine what could have been done if this money had been spent for housing and hospital needs of the poor, Cruz said.*CPG

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