CBCP official worries about fund drive for vehicles for bishops

A Catholic Church official is not too comfortable with a new fund-raising campaign to buy vehicles for bishops, especially amid reports that some of the contributions came from politicians. Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA) executive secretary Father Edu Gariguez reminded the bishops to be more prudent as the move could cause another embarrassment. "If you will ask me, it would be better if I would ride a bicycle ... The Church should purify itself and regain its moral fiber," Gariguez said in an article posted on Tuesday on the CBCP news site. Last week, a group led by former Manila Mayor Jose Atienza Jr. and election lawyer Romulo Macalintal started a fund-raising drive for vehicles for the bishops. Atienza had been a supporter of former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo. Macalintal had served as Arroyo's election lawyer. According to a report of Sun Star Manila on Saturday, Arroyo's son, party-list Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo donated P50,000 to the fund. Sun Star said " the other prominent donors were Senators Francis 'Chiz' Escudero, who donated P100,000, and Vicente "Tito" Sotto, who gave P200,000." "The group plans to raise P8.258 million, an amount that it expects will cover new vehicles for the bishops," the Sun Star report said. Call for prudence Gariguez reminded the seven bishops who were dragged into a scandal involving vehicle donations from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCS) during Arroyo's term to be more prudent in receiving donations. The bishops recently told a Senate hearing they would return the donated vehicles. “This is more embarrassing for the Catholic Church that there would be money coming from the Arroyos. This is why in this early stage, we are already saying that we are against it," Gariguez said. Earlier, running priest Roberto Reyes said instead of accepting donations from Arroyo, bishops should look for other sources to meet their financial needs. “If the Catholic Church wants to have a fund raising they should do it quietly. It should hold its own fund raising and not let others do it for them," Reyes said. - VVP, GMA News