Cebu Daily News / News

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Inter-faith coalition in Cebu created By Jolene Bulambot Cebu Daily News Posted date: February 28, 2008 CEBU CITY, Philippines - Rallying to the call for truth, Cebuano church and militant leaders have formed an inter-faith coalition to examine the scandalous controversies surrounding the canceled ZTE broadband deal with China. The leaders of these groups have come together under the Cebuanos for Truth (C4T) coalition. Fr. Max Abalos, national chairman of Sanlakas, yesterday said that the coalition was formed only last Tuesday to serve as venue for the Cebuanos to be counted in the call for the search for truth. Abalos, however, clarified that the group has not yet come up with an official stand on the calls for People Power or the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. “We believe it is important that we have a venue here. We don’t have illusions of gathering big numbers but what is really important is that there is a venue for Cebuanos to come out and be counted,” he said. Abalos said that it has always been the position of Sanlakas even during the time of People Power 2 that ousted President Joseph Estrada, to call for the resignation of President Arroyo, her Cabinet secretaries and key government officials. Abalos said the Sanlakas is pushing for a change in the system of government which has been the source of greed and corruption. Pastor Carlos Muncada, head of the Jesus is Lord (JIL) movement in the Visayas, said that while the groups agreed with most of the points contained in the pastoral letter of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). “We don't agree to the call for the President to lead the stop of corruption. We believe she has no moral ascendancy to lead to cleanse or stop the corruption,” he said. Muncada said it has been the stand of JIL for President Arroyo to resign and call for a snap election. While the C4T refused to call for the resignation of the President, but Muncada said the JIL and the Bangon Pilipinas are demanding for the resignation of Arroyo, Vice President Noli de Castro and install a caretaker government to be headed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Lito Vasquez, secretary-general of the Freedom from Debt Coalition, said asking President Arroyo to take the lead in combating corruption is horrible because the very institutions expected to do it are under her control and influence, making any government investigation such as the Ombudsman probe, a farce. Aside from Muncada and Abalos, the convenors of C4T include Louie Sanchez of CitiChurch; Dr. Joselito Ybañez and Pastor Abel Baclayon of New Life Christian Center; Hadji Nashier Ismael and Ustad Najeeb Razul of the Muslim sector, Leonor Gomez of Task Force Detainees of the Philippines, and Aaron Pedrosa of Sanlakas; Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC). Ustadz Najeeb Razul said that many of the Muslim leaders in Cebu are confused on what concrete actions to take to support moves in seeking for truth and condemning the on-going corruption in government. He also said that he expects the CBCP to issue a stronger stand against the continued corruption in the government in the light of the testimony of another ZTE-broadband deal witness. Meanwhile, the C4T will hold an inter-faith prayer rally on Friday at the Fuente Osmena rotunda from two to 7 p.m. simultaneously with the activities in Manila and other provinces. Those joining the prayer rally on Friday are asked to wear something green to symbolize hope, truth and commitment to uphold the truth. Meanwhile, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said that despite the NBN-ZTE deal controversy, he still trusts President Arroyo's administration. Osmena said yesterday that he the people must adjust the system because there are many people with political motives who want to bring down the President Arroyo’s administration. He said the case should be handled by the criminal justice system and not the Senate. For her part, Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said that Cebuanos remain unperturbed by the political crisis in Metro Manila. “For Cebuanos, we stay focused. We concentrate on the things that are important and certainly, all hot noise is totally of no consequence to us. It will certainly not help us attain the bright and promising future that we aim to achieve,” she said in a speech during the 69th National Convention of the Philippine Institute of Chemical Engineers held at the Cebu International Convention Center yesterday afternoon. Garcia said she fully supports the stand of Cardinal (Ricardo) Vidal calling for people to stay calm. /With a report from Correspondents Jhunnex Napallacan, Chris A. Ligan and Chief of Reporters Suzzane Salva-Alueta