Bishop to Aquino: Stop blaming predecessor for present woes

A Catholic Church official on Tuesday advised President Benigno Aquino III to stop blaming his predecessors, particularly Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo, for the nation's woes.

Manila auxiliary bishop Broderick Pabillo was referring to Aquino's State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday, where he again linked Arroyo to corruption.

"It’s been a long time. He has been there for more than five years already, but he did nothing and he keeps blaming others instead," Pabillo said in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines news site.

He added it is not right for Aquino to continue the blame game especially now that he has less than a year to go to leave his legacy.

Aquino, whose term ends on June 30 next year, had run on an anti-corruption platform in 2010.

During his final SONA before a joint session of Congress, Aquino again listed the alleged corruption cases under Arroyo's watch.

Arroyo, presently a congresswoman representing Pampanga, is facing plunder charges and has been under hospital arrest.

Meanwhile, Pabillo also questioned Aquino's supposed propaganda in the SONA, where he trumpeted his administration's achievements.

“I was hoping that the SONA will be about the state of the country. But he used it for propaganda... That’s not the purpose of the SONA,” he said. — Joel Locsin/LBG, GMA News