Bishop Cenzon won’t join calls to oust Pres Aquino

By Redjie Melvic Cawis

BAGUIO CITY -- Bishop Carlito Cenzon  of  the Diocese of Baguio and Benguet  is backing  President Benigno S.  Aquino III to finish his term amidst call for  him  step down from office.

“He is the President, let him fulfill his term, ” said Cenzon, adding   he will not join call of his fellow bishops in the Catholic Church to oust  the President.

Various sectors including the Catholic Church urged Aquino to step down due to many issues  hounding the administration,  like the Mamasapano  incident   where  44 Philippine National Police  Special Action Force commandos were killed.

Batangas Archbishop Ramon Arguelles and Zamboanga Archbishop Romulo Dela Cruz called for Aquino’s ouster slamming the chief executive for being “incompetent” in leading the country following the bloody encounter.

“Lahat ng tao may pagkukulang,” Cenzon said, saying people should understand the stand of the President on various issues . Unless we have something serious against him then we should call for him to step down but for now he should fulfill his mandate and responsibilities to the Filipino people, he added.

Cenzon instead called on both the President and the people to learn to listen to each other to have a harmonious relationship.

“P-Noy,  may mga sinasabi ang mga tao noon pa, pakinggan mo,” said Cenzon. All leaders should know how to listen to the people, at one time or another, the people’s voice becomes serious, he added.

“Let us not only look at the mistake of the president, let us also look on how we can contribute to make things better.”

In a recent report, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines  President Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said “The CBCP cannot morally join in the calls for the President’s resignation, leaving this decision to his humble and prayerful discernment of his capacity to lead and the support he has not only from officials of government but from members of Philippine society.”