Bishops not above law on PCSO donations – Palace

Malacañang on Saturday reminded Catholic bishops they are not above the law in the ongoing row over donations allegedly received by some prelates from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte also “cleared" other religious groups from the mess, saying the Commission on Audit found no sign of donations to them. “Certainly if it’s a criminal offense, nobody is above the law and nobody is immune from suit," she said on government-run dzRB radio, when asked about the possibility of bishops facing criminal charges. She cited Article VI Section 29 (2) of the Constitution, which decrees that "No public money or property shall be appropriated, applied, paid, or employed, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, sectarian institution, or system of religion, or of any priest, preacher, minister, or other religious teacher, or dignitary as such, except when such priest, preacher, minister, or dignitary is assigned to the armed forces, or to any penal institution, or government orphanage or leprosarium." “Hindi lang sa Catholic Church, (but) for any religion, sect or denomination. Ipinagbababawal ng Constitution yan, may separation of Church and State," she said. Valte also reiterated the Palace is not singling out the Catholic Church on the PCSO mess. She said it just so happened that the Commission on Audit (COA)’s 2008 and 2009 reports had detected donations to some bishops. “It’s not something personal, it’s just that the 2008 and 2009 COA report mismo ang nagsabi. The money should not have been disbursed [in that manner] because it is violative of the constitutional prohibition," she said. Valte also said the Palace would have favored an investigation by the PCSO of other religious groups had they been tagged as recipients of donations. “As a matter of fact, sa 2009 audit report walang nabanggit donations to other religious groups," she said. — LBG, GMA News