The bishops who supposedly requested and received sports utility vehicles (SUVs) from the Philippine Charity and Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) are expected to face the Senate blue ribbon committee on Wednesday. In a media advisory sent to the media on Tuesday, the Senate blue ribbon committee said it has invited to Wednesday's hearing the following prelates:
Bishop Rodolfo F. Beltran, DD (Apostolic Vicariate Bontoc-Lagawe) Bishop Leopoldo C. Jaucian, SVD, DD (Diocese of Bangued, Abra) Most Rev. Martin S. Jumoad, DD (Roman Catholic Prelate of Isabela, Basilan) Bishop Juan de Dios M. Pueblos (Diocese of Butuan) Archbishop Orlando B. Quevedo OMI (Archdiocese of Cotabato) Most Rev. Ernesto A. Salgado, DD (Archbishop of Nueva Segovia, Caritas Nueva Segovia) Archbishop Romulo G. Valles, DD (Zamboanga Archdiocesan Social Action Apostolate) "We should provide the bishops a forum for them to officially explain, that’s why we’re very glad that they’re going to come and explain," committee chairman Sen. Teofisto Guingona III said in an earlier interview. During the panel's first hearing last week, PCSO chair Margie Juico said the charity fund's previous board had granted Quevedo's vehicle request for the Diocese of Abra and Bontoc but that they could not determine what type of vehicles were donated to them because these were not liquidated. On the other hand, she said Jumoad received funding for a Mitsubishi Strada; Pueblos a Montero Sport; the Archdiocese of Cotabato a Toyota Grandia; and the Archdiocese of Caritas Nueva Segovia an Isuzu Crosswind. It was also revealed that Pueblos had personally written to then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to ask for the Montero Sport as a gift for his 66th birthday. On Monday, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) apologized to the public for the SUV controversy. "We welcome their openness and I'm humbled by their openness and candor... with that, we would continue this fair and transparent process so that it can be brought to a satisfactory conclusion for the benefit of everyone," Guingona said after the CBCP issued its statement. The senator, however, noted that they have yet to determine the liability of the prelates who were involved in the issue. Aside from the prelates, the Senate panel also invited to the hearing Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban B. Conejos Jr., who was accused of having received PCSO intelligence funds used as blood money for four overseas Filipino workers who were on death row in Saudi Arabia. Commission on Audit Commissioner Heidi L. Mendoza was also invited to Wednesday's inquiry. Also invited back to the hearing were former and incumbent officials of the PCSO, who had already appeared before the panel last week. A staff of Guingona, however, told GMA News Online on Tuesday that they have yet to confirm the attendance of the resource persons invited. Meanwhile, Guingona said that they also plan to ask the Philippine National Police (PNP) whether they also received a percentage of the PCSO's earning as stated in media reports. "We will ask the PCSO to explain... and if there is need for further investigation, then we will call the PNP," he said. - Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK, GMA News 
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