Cardinal Rosales rejects people power if elections fail

(Updated 1:43 p.m., May 3) The Catholic Church will not support calls for another People Power uprising if the May elections fail or even if there are strong suspicions of cheating, a ranking church leader said on Sunday. In a "24 Oras" news report, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales said calls for such an uprising are "irresponsible," noting that the current situation is different from that during the first people power in 1986. "Why infuse that into the present situation when this is different? Remember, at that time, there was a dictator," Rosales said, referring to the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., who was ousted from Malacañang in the historic People Power Revolt. "Come on, let's use our head. These are two different things. That's just crazy, crazy, crazy," he was also quoted as saying on the news website of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.
Liberal Party presidential bet Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III was earlier quoted in news reports as saying that a revolt is possible if there is massive cheating in the May 10 elections. While he did not specify any presidential candidate, Rosales said anyone who introduced the idea of another mass uprising was thinking irresponsibly. "That is irresponsible thinking," he said. "For heaven’s sake, there is the [1987] Constitution, all these are covered by provisions of Constitution. If there are complaints, you go to the Comelec (Commission on Elections), in Congress because you still have that. The laws are not done on the streets." Reacting to Rosales, Aquino said: "Tayo’y may responsibilidad sa ating kapwa. Tayo’y nakasandal sa taong bayan (We have a responsibility to our fellowman. We are leaning on the people)." Rosales' remarks did not sit well with activist priest Robert Reyes as well. "Mabuti pa, huwag na kami magsalita (It’s better if we don’t talk). People power is the power of the people — not the power of the church, not the power of politicians — but the power of the common tao," Reyes was quoted as saying on Monday in QTV’s Balitanghali. Reyes made the statement Monday during a campaign run with Magdalo leader James Layug, who is seeking a congressional seat in Taguig City. Layug, a former member of the Navy Special Warfare and Operations Group, was among the soldiers who carried out the foiled Oakwood mutiny in July 2003 against President Arroyo’s administration. 1986 EDSA Aquino’s mother, the late President Corazon “Cory" Aquino, was catapulted to Malacañang via the first People Power. Cardinal Sin's support for the revolt had been critical to its success. Many priests and nuns took part in the so-called Edsa One in highly visible roles. Rosales likewise said he does not see the necessity of calling for a revolt in case of a rigged election. In this election, the church-based Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, or PPCRV, has supported the Comelec in its voter education and monitoring efforts. In 1986, the church's lay organizations were much more critical of Comelec, which was seen as a tool for fraud by the late dictator. Despite a recent history of controversies, including the Hello Garci cheating scandal in 2005, the PPCRV and the Catholic Church have been much more willing to give the Comelec the benefit of the doubt. —Jerrie Abella/KBK/HGS, GMANews.TV