MANILA, June1, 2013— A Catholic priest urged poll chief Sixto Brillantes Jr. not to be overly sensitive to criticisms after he scored the Catholic bishops for raising concerns over glitches of the recent elections.
Answering Brillantes, Fr. Edu Gariguez of the National Secretariat for Social Action (Nassa) said the Church cannot stay silent if it sees legitimate concerns that need to be addressed.
“He should not be onion-skinned and get angry because the public has the right to know the truth. They should be held accountable to the people,” Gariguez said.
CBCP President Archbishop Jose Palma earlier called on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to address questions on the conduct of the May 13 polls.
“There are many valid points being raised because a lot of people thought the elections were okay. But just like music, we all know that it was out of tune, which puts into question so many things,” Palma said.
“It’s also their responsibility to provide answers to these questions from the people,” he added.
Irked by the archbishop’s statement, Brillantes scored the bishops and asked them to mind their own business and just attend to matters of religion.
Gariguez said they just want the Comelec to clarify the issues raised by various poll watchdogs because “the morality and integrity of the country is at stake here.’
“It is the credibility of the elections and the common good that are at stake. What if there was really cheating? We don’t want that,” he added.
“If you have nothing to hide, there’s really no problem with being accountable and transparent,” said Gariguez. (Roy Lagarde)
