When bishops "search for the truth"

From Conrad de Quiros:

DEAR bishops:

Your Orlando Quevedo says: “To search for truth in the streets or through a so-called people’s court seems to be mere political and even an ideological ploy. People are indifferent … which may mean that they do not totally believe in the so-called truth presented by the opposition.”

Your Fernando Capalla says: “Our stand is the same as before: people have the right to assemble and express dissent peacefully and within the bounds of law. But this right is not absolute and is limited by the rights of others. The rallies are disrupting classes and business in Makati. Constitutional rights have corresponding limitations.”

And your CBCP statement says: “We should now move forward and address the more important and urgent problem of the grinding poverty of our people -- poverty which has, to a considerable extent, been caused by excessive politicking.”

Now correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the truth patently known? Frankly, I can’t understand why even those who protest in the streets keep talking about searching for the truth. Is it possible we have become so blind to the truth we cannot see it when it stares us in the face? Is it possible we have become so self-deluded we keep searching for an elusive truth when it is right before us, eager to be seized?

What in God’s name, which Capalla may now invoke only at risk of inviting a lightning bolt his way, do we mean by truth? Can there be any doubt that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is not the president of this country? We have the “Hello, Garci” tape to show she connived with a senior official of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to defraud the voters. Can anyone in his right mind believe that conversation did not take place, or that the parties there are not Ms Arroyo and Garci? We have Ms Arroyo’s admission and apology for talking “to a Comelec official.” Can anyone in his right mind believe Ms Arroyo was not referring to the “Hello, Garci” tape?

The bishops' "search for the truth" is like O.J. Simpson searching for the "real killer"? LMAO!