CBCP president says bishops inclusion in sedition case is ‘beyond belief’  

MANILA, Philippines — Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) President Archbishop Romulo Valles on Saturday said the sedition case filed against some bishops is “beyond belief.”

“I am very saddened by this news and am greatly disturbed by this development,” the Archbishop of Davao said in a statement.

His reaction comes after the Philippine National Police-Criminal and Detection Investigation Group (PNP-CIDG) filed sedition charges against Vice President Leni Robredo and 35 other individuals after being tagged in the “Ang Totoong Narcolist” videos.

Included in the sedition complaint are Caloocan Bishop and CBCP Vice President Pablo Virgilio David, former CBCP President and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, retired Novaliches Archbishop Teodoro Bacani Jr. and Cubao Bishop Honesto Ongtioco.

READ: Sedition case filed vs Robredo, 35 others over ‘Bikoy’ videos 

“That they are accused of sedition and other criminal complaints is for me beyond belief,” Valles said.

“They may be perceived as very vocal and very critical in their pronouncements. But that they consciously worked promoting seditious activities and other related crimes, these honestly I cannot believe.”

Valles also said that he continues to pray for the bishops involved, saying that the case is a “very distressing situation” for them.

“I pray that they may remain calm and confident that in the end, they will be found innocent,” Valles said.  /muf