Senate panel vows respectful treatment of bishops
July 13, 2011
BISHOPS testifying before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Wednesday over vehicles donated by the government sweepstakes office need not worry about being grilled by senators, its committee chairman said Tuesday.
Senator Teofisto Guingona III said the committee will give the seven bishops an opportunity to air their side on sports utility vehicles that the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) donated for their use.
The Commission on Audit has questioned the donations, saying they may have violated the constitutional ban on government spending for the benefit of religious groups.
“We expect them to tell their side of the story, so we’ll find out what really happened,” he told reporters Tuesday.
Guingona said senators may have questions for the bishops but that these questions should be asked with respect.
He said the committee will still probe the priests but said he did not “expect antagonism, there should be no reason (for that).”
Among those expected to appear before the committee on Wednesday morning is Butuan Bishop Juan De Dios Pueblos, who wrote then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2009 to request for a new 4×4 vehicle.
He said the Mitsubishi Montero would be used for the social and spiritual programs of his diocese. In a request made earlier that year, Pueblos mentioned that the new vehicle could be Arroyo’s birthday gift to him.
Also expected to attend are Bishop Rodolfo Beltran (Apostolic Vicariate Bontoc-Lagawe), Bishop Leopoldo Juacian (Diocese of Bangued, Abra) Bishop Martin Jumoad (Roman Catholic Prelate of Isabela,Basilan), Archbishop Orlando Quevedo (Archdiocese of Cotabato), Archbishop Ernesto Salgado (Caritas Nueva Segovia), and Archbishop Romulo Valles (Zamboanga Archdiocesan Social Action Apostolate).
The seven have been dubbed the “Pajero 7” for allegedly buying Mitsubishi Pajeros with PCSO money.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines has denied that any of the bishops bought Pajeros, adding the vehicles bought were used for Church charity programs.
PCSO chairperson Margarita Juico said the people may have mistaken the Montero, Toyota Grandia, Mitsubishi Strada, and Isuzu Crosswind for Pajeros.
On Wednesday, the CBCP apologized for the pain it caused Catholics and the confusion “because of the apparent inconsistency of our actions with our pastoral preaching.”
“We assure you that the bishops concerned are ready to accept responsibility for their action and to face the consequences if it would be proven unlawful, anomalous, and unconstitutional,” it said.
Aside from the bishops, former PCSO public relations manager Manuel Garcia is also expected to testify before the committee.
Garcia, who has been accused of taking a 40-percent cut from all PCSO ad placements and media projects, was at the Senate hearing Thursday. He was excused, however, after he invoked his right to be assisted by counsel.
Also on Thursday, the Bureau of Internal Revenue charged him with tax evasion. The case was prompted by personal checks and deposit slips that Alexander Quisumbing and Ludovico Yuseco, who have accused Garcia of taking kickbacks, showed to the Office of the Ombudsman. (Jonathan de Santos/Sunnex)
Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/07/12/senate-panel-vows-respectful-treatment-bishops-166459
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