An activist priest on Wednesday criticized patronage politics as a source of corruption in the Catholic Church, giving credence to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) exposé that some bishops have benefited from government coffers. In a telephone interview with GMA News Online, activist priest Robert Reyes said politicians usually give donations in courting the support of Catholic bishops who wield some influence over the parishioners in their respective dioceses. âPanahon pa lang ni Cardinal Sin, nag-o-offer na ang mga pulitiko ng donasyon," said Reyes, a vocal critic of the Arroyo administration. âThat practice is not exclusive to the Catholic Church," noted Reyes, saying that other religious groups also benefit from politiciansâ donations, some of which come from government agencies such as the PCSO. The PCSO has named at least six clerics who allegedly received donations such as expensive vehicles from government during the Arroyo administration, said a report on GMA Newsâ â24 Oras" newscast on Wednesday.
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV In GMA News TV's âState of the Nation" newscast, the PCSO identified the following bishops and priests:
- Archbishop Fernando Capalla of Davao
- Archbishop Orlando Quevedo of Cotabato
- Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos of Butuan
- Msgr. Augusto Laban of Sorsogon
- Fr. Roger Lood of Iligan
Lood confirmed that he wrote former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for donations but never received the aid, reported âState of the Nation." GMA News was still trying to get the statements of Pueblos, Laban, and Capalla when the newscast aired late Wednesday evening. Quevedo was in a meeting when GMA News tried to reach him, âState of the Nation" reported. The 1987 Constitution prohibits the use of public funds, directly or indirectly, to support any religious group, the newscast reported. PCSO director Aleta Tolentino, however, said it will not pose a problem if a religious group uses PCSO funds for charity work such as medical missions, which fall under the agencyâs jurisdiction.
âPupunta ka ba sa parishioners
mo para sabihin mo ang iyong doktrina? Then, that will be different," Tolentino said on â24 Oras." According to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the Archdiocese of Davao under Capalla has 918,520 inhabitants, 88 percent of whom are Catholics. The Archdiocese of Cotabato, where Quevedo is the prelate, has 1.5 million people, 52 percent of whom are Catholics. The Diocese of Butuan under Pueblos has 884,709 residents of whom 81 percent are Catholics. The Catholics in all these jurisdictions total 2.3 million. On Wednesday, the Senate blue ribbon committee also said it will
probe into reports that PCSO funds were used to bribe several people, including bishops, in exchange for supporting former President Arroyo.
Lavish lifestyles Reyes said he had an idea about the PCSO scam even before the exposé, based on the accounts of his fellows priests who supposedly noticed the lavish lifestyles of their bishops. The Palawan-based priest also recalled a bribery attempt exposed by his local bishop, Pedro Arigo, in 2006. At that time, Arigo came out in the media saying he received an envelope of P20,000 in cash after a meeting with Arroyo and other officials, according to a Philippine Daily Inquirer report. The Arroyo administration denied the claim. In the same Inquirer report, Dipolog Bishop Jose Manguiran recalled a similar bribery attempt on the eve of a CBCP meeting to discuss Arroyoâs impeachment. âGarapal," Manguiran reportedly said. Reyes said the âsupport" that Arroyo extended to a number of bishops softened their stance on calls for the former president to step down. The CBCP did not directly call for her resignation.
A human institution Confirming that corruption exists in the Catholic Church, Reyes said the Church is a human institution that âis no different from the government." âBut the Church is not only human. It is also divine," noted Reyes, describing the exposé as a âmoment of grace." âGod is giving us this embarrassment, this painful experience, so we can fall on our knees and beg Him for strength," he explained. Choosing not to name the bishops involved, Reyes then urged them to return the expensive vehicles they allegedly received from the government. He also called on other priests and bishops to reexamine their supposedly âextravagant" lifestyles, which he said makes them want to accept equally lavish gifts.
âAng nagiging problema ng Simbahan ngayon is our failure to distinguish between what we need and what we want," he said. Reyes however noted there is no problem with receiving gifts per se.
âAng tanong, paano mo gagamitin," he said. ââ
Pag luxury vehicle
na," Reyes noted,
âibang usapan na âyan." The priest also noted the poverty of Jesus Christ, whom Catholics and other Christians worship. âHe thrived on a very simple life, but he was able to function," Reyes said.
File charges against those involved Meanwhile, a CBCP official on Tuesday told government to
file charges against people involved in the allegedly anomalous use of PCSO funds during the Arroyo administration.
âKung sinuman ang mga taong nabanggit diyan sa katiwalian na âyan, including bishops
ay dapat isama sa lahat ng imbestigasyon para malaman ang buong katotohanan at kasuhan na kung dapat kasuhan," said Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, chair of the CBCP National Secretariat for Social Action - Justice and Peace, in an interview on Church-run Radyo Veritas. Another bishop, Cotabato Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, interpreted the PCSO exposé as a
demolition job in relation to a bishopâs criticism against the President as well as the reproductive health (RH) bill, which has pitted the interests of Church and State.
âItong pagpapakalat ng balita na nakatanggap ng mga SUV
ang ilang bishops
ay atake nila ngayon on moral ascendancy
sa mga obispo.
Nakakita sila ng magandang panlaban in order to destroy the moral ascendancy
ng mga obispo kontra sa RH bill," Bagaforo said in an interview with Radyo Veritas.
â With a report by Earl Rosero/VS, GMA News