Bishops defend Constitution (Philippines).

Manila--On September 21, for the second time within a month, Cardinal Sin, Archbishop of Manila, and some of his fellow bishops took to the streets to defend the constitution. Philippine President Joseph Estrada, elected in June 1998, has been pushing to change the constitution, removing from it a provision limiting the president's term in office to six years. This clause was written into the constitution in 1987 as a safeguard against the re-emergence of dictatorships such as that of former president Marcos.

Estrada's protestations that the changes were merely economic and that the constitution was an "obstacle" to progress were countered by Cardinal Sin's declaration that "the moves to amend the charter are a threat to our democracy." The Cardinal spoke at a Mass and rally in Manila attended by 100,000 protesters, one of many held throughout the island nation. Former president Mrs. Corazon Aquino, who was present at the protest, has previously warned Philippinos that many of Estrada's backers are old hacks left over from the Marcos regime.

The Philippine hierarchy's involvement in public affairs is nothing new. First, the Church was an opponent of Marcos, and later it gave support to the Aquino government which replaced him. Since last year, Cardinal Sin and the bishops have monitored the activities of "strongman" Estrada. Moves which have elicited public criticism from them include the escalation of the imposition of the death-penalty in a get-tough-on-crime move by the President. Six Catholic bishops have also gone on record as opposing the repeal of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA), which had important implications regarding native land rights and the ownership of their resources.