An interfaith rally that is expected to draw a larger crowd than the 10,000 who joined a protest in Negros Occidental  on Monday will be held at the Bacolod public plaza at 3 p.m. today  to pray for the nation and to call on concerned Filipinos to rise up for change, Pastor Emilio Henares said yesterday.

“We no longer recognize the presidency of GMA (Gloria Macapagal Arroyo). Since she has no decency to resign or go down from power, we support all communal actions for her eventual removal from office,” a joint statement of the Negros Ecumenical Movement read by Henares said.

Henares of the River of Life Church was joined by representatives of Catholic, Protestant and Philippine Independent Churches at a press conference at the Bacolod Bishop’s House.

At 3 p.m. today protestors will gather at the Bacolod plaza for the interfaith prayer rally after which a solidarity march to the Capitol Lagoon Park will be held, where Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra will deliver a message to be capped by the singing of Bayan Ko.

Similar interfaith rallies are set in other parts of the country today.

But there are also other Church leaders who said they would not join the rally and would instead pray for the nation.

The Negros Occidental police will remain on alert for any untoward incident, Senior Supt. Rosendo Franco, Negros Occidental police director, said.

Deputy Presidential Spokesman Anthony Golez, in reaction to the rally in Bacolod City, told the DAILY STAR, “We urge all those who will join the rally to observe sobriety to prevent any untoward incident”.

“Although we respect the opinion of every individual and the liberty to freely express these, we also urge them to have a truthful and diligent circumspection to understand the real issues at hand and not be persuaded nor be used by political opportunists,” he said.

Golez called on prayers for the healing of the nation and to let constitutionally-mandated judicial institutions find the truth so justice can be served.

‘RISE UP AGAINST GMA’

“GMA and her men have remained in power because we have tolerated them….Allowing evil to persist is placing the future in a tightrope,” the Negros Ecumenical Movement statement said.

“We no longer seek the truth for the truth is already obvious, what we seek is for every Filipino to rise up against GMA,” the statement added.

The church leaders said they condemn all those who lost moral authority over the Filipino people by betraying their people’s trust and those who support the administration and “all its illegitimate transactions.”

They also urged good men in the administration to tell the truth and on those involved in graft and corruption to admit what they have done and resign.

The National Council of Churches of the Philippines in a statement also said that “general mistrust, cynicism and disgust have replaced the public trust in government.”

“May we all be fervent  in prayer that genuine reform and change will sweep across the land…The gift of freedom can be seen in the united march  of all who believe  that the unrighteous be banished away to usher a new dawn of peace,” the NCCP said.

Others present at the press conference were Fr. Anecito Buenafe of the Diocese of Bacolod, Romeo Tagud of the Philippine Independent Church, Sr. Sozima Dalena, Pastor Al Molinos of the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches and Pastor Fernando Jacolbe of the Jesus is Lord Church.

‘CBCP STAND FRUSTRATING’

Buenafe, Jacolbe and Tagud said they were disappointed with the failure of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines to call for the resignation of Arroyo.

The CBCP instead called for Arroyo and all branches of government “to take the lead in combating corruption wherever it is found.”

The CBCP statement is confusing, it is like asking Ali Baba to investigate his 40 thieves, Buenafe said.

But Buenafe said he appreciated the CBCP’s condemning corruption from top to bottom.

He said the priests of the Diocese of Bacolod are meeting this morning to come up with their own collegial statement. “We will go with our people,” he said.

Some church representatives expressed frustration with the CBCP statement because it does not give a solution, it is misleading, Tagud said.

That is why we are staging a rally in Bacolod today because we need more action, not just statements, he said.

Batanes Bishop Camilo Gregorio, who was in Bacolod City yesterday, said it is not within the competency of the CBCP as a body to call for the resignation of the president, which is a political exercise.

But bishops and priests can make their own individual stands, it is a free country, he said.

He said he personally understands the people’s expectations, dismay and frustrations.

WHO WILL TAKEOVER?

Asked who would lead the nation if Arroyo steps down, Henares said there are three options: Vice President Noli de Castro, snap elections or a military junta with civilian leadership.

Fr. Fred Guadalupe, parish priest of Punta Taytay, said “who will lead the nation after Arroyo is a matter of faith, we are leaving it to the Lord to guide us”.

‘RESIDENT EVIL’

Frank Fernandez, who heads the Communist Party of the Philippines and National Democratic Front in Negros, in a statement released yesterday, also called on the people to remove the “resident evil” in Malacañang.

He claimed people like Rep. Monico Puentevella (Bacolod), Rep Ignacio Arroyo Jr. (Neg. Occ., 5th district) are among those licking and hanging onto the tail of the “resident evil” to cover up the truth and prolong the darkness.

Puentevella, when asked for his reaction, said “it is not in my character to insult a man I respect, especially a priest. I’m giving him my other cheek.”

Arroyo said, “I don’t want to glorify his otherwise ridiculous and absurd statement.”

Amid the corruption and abuses in government, Fernandez said, he is calling on the country’s law enforcers to take the side of the people in the continued effort to ensure the ejection of the “resident evil” from Malacañang.*CPG

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