Caritas approached to support civilian-military junta

People pushing for a civilian-military junta have allegedly sought the support of Caritas Philippines president Kidapawan Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, and possibly even other religious officials.

- By EVELYN MACAIRAN

Bagaforo, co-convenor of the Trillion Peso March (TPM) Movement, said that just like Sen. Panfilo Lacson, he was also approached by people who asked that he support a civilian-military junta government.

But the 71-year-old prelate declined. “Sabi ko ‘kalma lang’ (I said ‘let’s calm down’),” he said.

“First, we should follow the democratic process. We should not throw away our Constitution. We still have some trust and confidence in the democratic process. Second, we have a problem. I mean, if only a small part of the house is on fire, they should not burn down the entire house. We should only address the small fire in the house,” Bagaforo added.

He believed that apart from him, those spearheading the move for a military-junta government might have also approached other religious leaders.

Bagaforo said that Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David of Kalookan was being wooed by different groups, but Bagaforo did not specify the agenda of these groups.