MANILA, 10 April 2005 — Detained former President Joseph Estrada said it was preposterous of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to say that the late Pope John Paul II gave a tacit approval to the mass uprising that ousted him Malaca?ang Palace more than four years ago, a newspaper reported yesterday.
Estrada, who is currently detained while on trial for the capital charge of plunder, said Arroyo’s statement in an interview with CNN while in the Vatican “smacked of politicking of the cheapest kind,” the Daily Tribune newspaper reported.
Larry Faraon, a Catholic priest, said Arroyo should not have dragged the name of the pope for the furtherance of her political interest.
“Pope John Paul II did not want the church to be too involved in politics,” he said, adding that the pontiff even cautioned former Manila archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin against too much involvement in politics.
Didagen Dilangalen, spokesman of Estrada, said Arroyo was just using the late pope to prop up her sagging image to make it appear that she had his blessing in staging the military-backed mass uprising in January 2001 that toppled his presidency.
A survey conducted by the Pulse Asia Inc. from March 3 to 16 showed that Arroyo’s performance rating sank to 38 percent, the lowest since she assumed office.
The survey also showed that 60 percent of respondents believe their lives worsened over the past year, while 45 percent expected their lives to get harder next year. Only 20 percent were optimistic of better prospects next year.
John Paul II was considered the most trusted world leader by people in this Asian country where more than 80 percent of the population are Catholics.
Arroyo headed the Philippine delegation at the funeral for John Paul.
“At a time when we should be sending off a great and morally upright man to his eternal rest, Mrs. Arroyo’s statement alleging that the pope tacitly approved of any move she might make to take over the government of our country in 2001 smacks of politicking of the cheapest kind,” Estrada was quoted as saying.
In the interview, Arroyo hinted that the pope gave the moral impetus for the uprising that toppled Estrada over allegations of massive corruption and incompetence.
Arroyo said the pontiff “had a very keen understanding of what was happening in the Philippines,” when asked about the role the Vatican played in the uprising that toppled Estrada.
“And (the pope) was very encouraging towards me with regard to my taking steps to make sure that I would do what I could in order to promote morality in Philippine society,” Arroyo said.
Arroyo refused to speak to reporters yesterday about the issue shortly after arriving at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
At a town hall meeting she presided over in suburban Quezon City later in the day, she noted that the Philippines, as the bastion of Roman Catholicism in Asia, will continue to look to the John Paul II for inspiration even after his death.
“He will be our inspiration in our fight against poverty, corruption, and peace.”
A day earlier, on the pope’s burial, over half a million Filipinos gathered at Manila’s Rizal Park on Friday afternoon for a prayer rally to coincided with the pope’s interment in Rome. A much-revered figure in the Philippines, Pope John Paul II visited the country twice — in 1981 and in 1995.
A recent survey showed 75 percent of Filipino respondents saying the pope was the person they trusted most.
