Manila, Philippines, Sep 13, 2007 / 08:55 am
The archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, and Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of the Philippines, said this week that the sentencing to life in prison of former president Joseph Estrada for corruption is a warning for other public officials.
The sentence should be “a constant reminder to the people elected or appointed to serve. The moral in this is ‘BE MORAL’,” Cardinal Rosales said in a statement
He urged Filipinos to respect the rule of law and said the appeals process should take place in the courts, “instead of settling the score in the streets or elsewhere.” Archbishop Lagdameo said the bishops considered the verdict “a call to repentance and a call for change or conversion affecting not only the person of President Estrada but also many others in our government.”
Estrada was sentenced to 40 years in prison for two counts of corruption. He was also ordered to repay $86 million to the State.