Press Release
January 29, 2008

KIKO BACKS CBCP LETTER CALLING FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE AND RESPONSIBLE CITIZENSHIP

Senate Majority Leader and Independent senator Kiko Pangilinan today backed the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)'s pastoral letter calling for "moral renewal among Filipinos, beginning with a change in the mindset of habitually putting the blame on other people for every problem and crisis the country is facing." "We are nearing 2010, and the Presidential Elections can dictate the course our country will take in the immediate future. We need to institute reforms now so we can have a clean and credible election," Kiko said.

The CBCP in its four-page letter to the clergy and faithful named at least 12 pressing issues currently hounding the country. Among the problems cited by the bishops is the lack of reforms in the Commission on Elections (COMELEC). "We have consistently called for change in the COMELEC, and we pressed for transparency in the selection process of the next COMELEC Chair. We wanted to open up the process to the public so that the candidates may present their vision and programs for the reform of the agency. We wanted the selection committee to reveal the shortlist to the public--but all these didn't happen. Our citizens and leaders need to heed the CBCP's call and come together to press for cleaner elections, for the benefit not just of our people, but of the next generations of Filipinos," Kiko ended.

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