BY EVANGELINE DE VERA

JUSTICE Secretary Raul Gonzalez yesterday hit back at the leaders of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines who on Tuesday called for a change in government for what they said was rampant corruption in government.

Gonzalez said Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, CBCP president, treaded on thin ice with his utterance of "seditious" statements calling on the laity to take communal action in preparing for a new government.

"Strictly speaking, those are seditious (statements)," Gonzalez said.

Lagdameo, in a press conference Tuesday, called on the people to start preparing for a new government because of what he said was rampant state corruption.

Lagdameo said he was making a statement not in his capacity as a prelate, and not as CBCP president. But he also said that the four prelates also present in the conference, one of them a vocal Arroyo critic, agree with his stand.

The four were Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, Bishops Joel Baylon (Masbate) and Socrates Villegas (Balanga), and Bishop emeritus Jose Sorra.

Lagdameo, asked if he was calling for Arroyo’s ouster, said it is up to the people to decide what course of action to take.

Gonzalez said aside from vocally inciting people to call for Arroyo’s ouster, the bishops also made sweeping statements about graft and corruption, singling out the Arroyo administration.

He said Lagdameo, being a bishop, should be accorded respect, whether or not he is correct, but "certainly, he is not the Pope, therefore he is not infallible."

"The voice of the CBCP, for all we know could have been different, supposing they put it to a vote… What is important is that he (Lagdameo) is not the CBCP. The other bishops, they are not as popular as Fr. Damaso," he said, referring to a Dominican priest in Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere.

Gonzalez also said that since Lagdameo has crossed the line between the constitutional provision on the separation of the Church and State, he should try politics and run for president.

"A priest has become governor, why not an archbishop for president?" Gonzalez said.

He pointed out that bishops like Lagdameo are just "sitting in their lofty towers" without attempting to learn the true state of affairs of the parishes under them.

"We would like to know how many barangays has Archbishop Lagdameo visited right in my own city? There are 180 barangays in my city. How many barangays did he visit to find out how the people live, to find out if the people are angry?" he asked.

He said that three years ago, he issued a challenge to Lagdameo that they hire foreign experts to "authenticate" the "Hello Garci" wiretapped recordings on alleged cheating by the Arroyo camp in the 2004 presidential elections.

"He refused. Bakit ayaw nila?" he said.

He said people are already tried of unfailing attempts of the opposition to initiate public uprisings every year that it is doubtful that this new call by the bishops would succeed.

"They are aware that in the next two years, there will be elections already. Why waste energy and efforts for something that will come to pass?" he said.

Bayombong Bishop Ramon Villena said he believes that calling for a new government is already beyond the expertise of prelates.

"It is political to ask for a new government. As bishops, we do not have any prerogative to call for a new government… We cannot come up and crush the present government and put up a new government," he said.

He also contradicted his fellow bishops, who all expressed belief that the Arroyo government is already engulfed in corruption.

According to Villena, it is not fair to conclude without evidence the President is corrupt. Personally, Villena said, he does not believe Arroyo is corrupt.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said that while Malacañang respects the opinion of the five bishops, it is addressing the corruption issue through various means, like the creation of the Anti-Red Tape Task Force and the issuance of a subsequent executive order on streamlining procedures, eradicating fixers, and prosecution of erring government officials.

He said if the bishops have evidence for their allegations of corruption, there are procedures and venues for action.

Donald Dee, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said he talked with Lagdameo and the latter clarified they are not calling for Arroyo’s replacement but merely saying that changes in government are expected with the nearing 2010 elections.

He said he called up Lagdameo around 1:30 p.m. after being informed of a supposed meeting between the PCCI and the CBCP, which the bishops denied was set up.

Dee said he instead took the opportunity to clear the issue as the business sector wants a "calm environment."

Ermita dismissed concerns that the statement of the bishops would trigger another destabilization or ouster move against the President.

He said that first, it was not the call of the bishops; second, their statement was not the sentiment of all the bishops in the country, and third, the issue they raised is an old one which the government has already acted on and continues to address.

Armed Forces chief Gen. Alexander Yano said the military would remain apolitical and would not involve itself in any extra-legal activity.

He dismissed possibility the bishops’ call would trigger new military adventurism.

"Political issues and other similar issues are to be settled or resolved by politicians and not the soldiers… We cannot make, for example, the military as the quick fix solution or the stop gap measure for any problem that we have," he said.