'Biking priest' in Manila to deliver letter to Arroyo

MANILA, Philippines - Redemptorist "biking priest" Amado "Picx" Picardal arrived in Manila Sunday for the Manila and North Luzon legs of his 56-day, 4,750-kilometer bike tour for peace. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said Monday that Picardal will deliver his letter of concern to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in Malacañang on April 27. "On April 27, on his way back from Northern Luzon, he will bike around Manila and deliver (his) letter to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo," the CBCP said on its website Monday. Picardal is expected to tour Northern Luzon then make his Malacañang delivery on his way back from the north, it said. Earlier, Picardal said that while he does not expect President Arroyo to receive him or his letter personally, he will make its contents public once he formally submits it to the Palace. He said his letter to Mrs Arroyo will denounce her and her government for perpetuating a "culture of death." "Delivering a letter to Malacañang is just a side trip and I don't expect the President to meet me or to read the letter - it is just symbolic. I will make the contents of the letter public - in it I will denounce the President for perpetuating the culture of death and corruption and for being a hypocrite (she goes to Mass everyday and claims that it is God's will that she is president). Although I want her to resign, I will not be demanding her resignation because I know that it will be futile - she will continue to cling to power at all cost," he said in his Web log in March. Also, he said his letter will tell Arroyo she will face the judgment of history and of God, and her worst punishment will be to live the rest of her life in shame and disgrace. "But I don't want to focus all my energy in just denouncing the president," he said. Picardal left Davao City last March 24, has received good response from bishops, priests, lay people, and follow bikers who joined him along the way from different places. He has been urging people to "denounce the culture of death," and "uphold the value of life." During sermons at masses he held in his "stopovers," Picardal lamented that the spate of killings of journalists and activists, destruction of the environment and corruption in all levels of the county. Picardal plans to stop in one parish each night, to offer Mass and preach about life and peace. His tour is from Davao across Central and Western Visayas to the tip of Northern Luzon and traversing the Cordilleras on his way back to Davao through Southern Luzon, the Eastern Visayas and Eastern Mindanao. The remainder of his tour would cover Manila (Baclaran), Cabanatuan, Bayombong-Ilagan, Tuguegarao, Aparri-Claveria, Laoag, Bangued, Malibcong, Lubuagan, Bontoc, Abatan, Baguio, Alaminos, Iba, Zambales, Balanga, Bataan, Manila (Baclaran), Lucena, Calauag, Daet, Naga, Sorsogon, Matnog, Allen-Catarman, Samar, Catarman- Gamay, Oras, Llorente, Tacloban, Ormoc, Hilongos, Leyte, Liloan, Surigao, Butuan, San Francisco, Agusan, Mangagoy, Cateel, Davao Oriental, Cateel-Compostela Nabunturan, and Davao. "I do this because we live in a land where the value and sanctity of life is disregarded, a society where the culture of death and violence prevails. There are various manifestations of this culture of death and I would like to focus on abortion, the ongoing-armed conflict in the countryside, the spate of killings of militants, journalists and suspected petty criminals, the environmental destruction and graft and corruption," he said. - GMANews.TV