CBCP chief: RH bill still Church's toughest challenge

Amid the raging controversy over vehicle donations to some bishops, the head of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines said fighting the controversial Reproductive Health bill remains the Philippine Catholic Church's toughest challenge. In an article posted on the group's website, CBCP president Bishop Nereo Odchimar said the RH bill, along with a proposed measure seeking to legalize divorce, had made already tough times even tougher. "We have been in difficult times made more difficult because of the situation and issues (Reproductive Health bill and divorce)," Odchimar as quoted in the article. The CBCP news article said Odchimar, whose first term as CBCP head will end this year, added the fight was made harder because President Benigno Aquino III is supporting the RH bill. Still, he declined to compare Aquino’s administration to that of his immediate predecessor Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, saying the situations of the two are "different." Mrs. Arroyo now represents the second district of Pampanga in the House of Representatives. "Now we are confronted with a President who is sympathetic to the RH bill while during the time of PGMA the issue was also different," he said. "That time we called their (Arroyo administration's) attention regarding corruption in the government," he added. PCSO scandal At present, the CBCP is reeling from the scandal involving some of its members for receiving vehicles as "donations" from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. At least seven bishops have recently been accused of benefiting from questionable PCSO "donations" during the Arroyo administration. But the CBCP has so far defended the bishops who received financial aid and vehicles from the PCSO. The CBCP article quoted Odchimar as saying that any funds contributed to bishops were used for charitable purposes, not for personal gain. On Thursday night, a CBCP article said the bishops who received luxury vehicles are willing to return the same to the PCSO. They include Butuan Bishop Juan De Dios Pueblos, who received a Mitsubishi Montero Sport in 2009.
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV Earlier on Thursday, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz said during an interview on GMA News TV's “News To Go" that it would be better for the bishops to return the SUVs. “… [K]asi, tutal nagamit na naman na, napakinabangan na…" Cruz said while he didn't believe it was a crime, the bishops asking for and receiving the expensive vehicles from the government lacked delicadeza. — RSJ, GMA News