The Manila Times

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Newly-launched faith-based group blasts Cayetano, urges Senate to get back to work and ‘do justice forthwith’

MANILA, Philippines — A newly-launched faith-based group has blasted ex-Senate president Peter Allan Cayetano for clinging to the post despite the recognition made by various sectors including the Civil Service Commission of the new set-up with Senator Sherwin Gatchalian as acting president. In Wednesday’s press conference held at a Quezon City restaurant, the Kingdom Keepers, whose members were “followers of Christ from Catholic, Evangelical and mainstream Protestant,” said that they have come together as individuals and organizations to raise their voice against using the name of the Lord in vain, in particular. The top convenors – Dr. Melba Maggay, social anthropologist and Institute for Studies in Asian Church and Culture; and ‘running priest’ Fr. Robert Reyes, of Clergy for Good Governance – said that the Upper Chamber under Gatchalian’s leadership should buckle down to work. “The Senate should start doing its mandated duty to uphold justice as an impeachment court, to ease the heavy burdens that our people carry - poverty, trillion-peso corruption, and growing hopelessness and cynicism over the despicable behavior of our institutions,” they said. They, however, expressed concern regarding the composition of the senators who will act as judges in the impeachment court saying some of them were facing serious allegations of corruption, bribery and human rights violations. “Six are under investigation for flood control anomalies while at least one is already behind bars for graft and non-bailable crime of plunder and another is charged before the ICC (International Criminal Court) for crimes against humanity and is a fugitive,” they told reporters. Also, Maggay and Reyes, along with co-convenors, decried Cayetano’s use of religious language and Scripture to place himself above criticism and appear to be on the side of God. “For the former Senate president (in reference to Cayetano) to say ‘God does not doubt me,’ is not humility but presumptuous blasphemy, equating his opinion of himself as the opinion of God,” the Home Keepers’ convenors said. In Scripture, even the greatest kings and prophets were questioned, corrected and called to account by God, they pointed out. Reyes said that Cayetano has now become a ‘senatroll,’ in apparent reference to the latter’s use of social media specifically Facebook instead of attending the sessions with colleagues. "Alan Peter is now the Number 1 destabilizer. He is destabilizing the Senate and the country,” Reyes said. Maggay said that they all have decided to unite in their bid to seek for truth and justice, especially in the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte. "We need to fight against the narratives of fake news or disinformation. Bring forth justice is what the Church is teaching," she added. They noted that senators close to the vice president have shown their bias when they attempted to change procedural rules to allow absent senators to vote online “in their bid to protect their allies and acquit VP Sara.” “We also suspect the continuing refusal of Duterte to appear, sending instead her pharisaical lawyers to technicalize issues is a sign to us that the charges may be true,” they said. In the same press briefing, Maggay lamented that the reported security threat at the Senate appeared to be connected to the alleged plan for ‘people power’ which will be resorted to by the religious group- Iglesia ni Cristo – which she described as a cult. “The cult which is using the name of Christ for its own selfish political interest. It's time to name names," Maggay said.

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