Philippine Archbishop urges calm, humility in the face of emergency rule

(Feb. 24) - The archbishop of Manila, in the Philippines, has urged the people of his country to act with “calm and humility” in the face of the Filipino President’s declaration of a national state of emergency. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared emergency rule in the Philippines on Friday after the military said it foiled a coup attempt led by key military officers.
“Some may say that everything is alright, and others may say everything is going badly, but what is important is that, in the eyes of God, we ask for unity…,” said Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales, the newly appointed cardinal. Arroyo ordered the arrest of key military officers for allegedly leading a plot to topple her government. The president “did not exclude that civilians could be involved in the attempted Coup d’Etat”. The cardinal urged those involved to “show a more mature side, because these accusations and counter-accusations, which always end up in protests on streets, lead to a deterioration of our image in the eyes of the world and give a very bad example to those we should be educating.” He said that those who have something to say should do so with humility. He said the national protest of 1986 when the dictator, Marcos, was overthrown, was a success precisely because it was peaceful.