Philippine Bishops Assail Massive Vote Fraud, Terror : Call for ‘Nonviolent Struggle’

In a thinly veiled attack on President Ferdinand E. Marcos and his ruling party, the powerful Philippine Catholic Church today charged that last week’s presidential election was “a criminal use of power,” rife with intimidation, terrorism, murder and massive vote fraud.

The bishops issued an unprecedented call for “nonviolent struggle” against any government that is proclaimed victorious through fraudulent means.

“A government that assumes or retains power through fraudulent means has no moral basis,” the nation’s bishops declared in a statement that bears far-reaching implications for this nation of more than 40 million Roman Catholics as it anxiously awaits the official result of the election.

“If such a government does not, of itself, freely correct the evil it has inflicted on the people, then it is our serious moral obligation as a people to make it do so.”

2-Day Session

The statement, which church officials said represents the sentiments of all 110 Philippines bishops, came after a grueling and sometimes bitter two-day session called by Cardinal Jaime Sin to frame a public response to an election that many say ranks among the most corrupt in the history of Philippines politics.

Challenger Corazon Aquino’s campaign relied heavily on behind-the-scenes church support.

The actual official outcome of the election, which the bishops concluded was “unparalleled in the fraudulence of its conduct,” favors Marcos, who held an almost insurmountable lead over the challenger as the Marcos-controlled National Assembly neared the end of its formal canvass.

The assembly, which conducts the only binding tally, said today that with 97% of the votes tabulated, Marcos had 10,184,710, or 53.8% to Aquino’s 8,731,999, or 46.2%.

Marcos Concerned

Marcos, who so far has not responded to the church’s charges, was at least as concerned with the bishop’s message as he was about the final tallies, according to church sources and aides to the president.

Marcos’ wife, Imelda, who persuaded Marcos to convert to Catholicism from his native Aglipayan religion before they were married 30 years ago, made a special trip at 2:30 a.m. today to the Manila compound where the bishops were sequestered. Several bishops said the first lady beseeched them not to release any public statements on the elections, let alone one as critical as the declaration it made today.

In his own recent public appearances, Marcos has made it a point to take the offensive against the increasingly activist Catholic Church. He accused nuns and priests of being subversive communist sympathizers during his campaign, and he has chided them for what he called illegal, partisan acts he said they committed while guarding the polls against fraud on election day.

Read From Pulpit

The bishops’ statement will be read form the pulpit in tens of thousands of churches throughout the Philippines on Sunday, a day on which several Marcos aides have hinted the National Assembly may proclaim him president for another six years.