Bishops ask PGMA to scrap EO 464
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has strongly urged President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to scrap Executive Order 464, or else it will be forced to declare to the people that the present administration is tolerating the incidence of rampant graft and corruption in the government. In a statement issued by the CBCP, it insisted that the present administration's unclear stance on the issuance of Executive Order No. 464, which bars government officials, including military and police officers, from testifying before public hearings called by Congress, could be misconstrued by the people as another way of protecting rampant illegal transactions involving top government officials. The civil society groups have shared the view of the CBCP that the continuous reluctance of President Arroyo to cancel EO 464 is meant to mussle the mouths of public officials who may have been privy or knowledgeable to some of graft and corrupt practices under the present administration. T