Bishops return PCSO vehicles

MANILA, Philippines - With one of them admitting a “lapse in judgment” by accepting an expensive sport utility vehicle (SUV) from the government, seven Roman Catholic bishops returned yesterday four of the seven vehicles and promised to turn over the rest as soon as possible.

The four vehicles were driven by the bishops’ staff to the Senate where the prelates attended a Blue Ribbon committee hearing on the alleged misuse of more than P300 million in intelligence funds by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

More than P8 million of the funds had been disbursed for the purchase of the vehicles for the prelates. The bishops themselves came in a coaster.

Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos said it was a “lapse in judgment” when he asked then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for an SUV as a birthday gift in 2009.

But the PCSO is not keen on taking back the vehicles and said it may auction them off if the bishops insist on returning them.

“We really want the bishops to keep the vehicles but if they really insist (on returning them), then the PCSO has no choice but to accept them back,” Jose Ferdinand Rojas II, PCSO general manager, said.

He said the PCSO accepts the bishops’ explanation that the vehicles are vital to their charity and social works, particularly in far-flung areas of their respective dioceses.

The PCSO official said that the proceeds of the auction would be used for medical assistance to communities covered by the bishops’ dioceses.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, and Senate President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada also asked the bishops to reconsider their decision to return the vehicles.

“I know all of you mean well. I know you’re using it for our people,” Estrada told the bishops.

“I would like to express our regrets and appreciation for the patience of the leaders of the Catholic Church for being here with us to clarify this point for the people,” Enrile said.

Aside from Pueblos, the other bishops who offered to return their vehicles were Bishop Rodolfo Beltran (Bontoc-Lagawe), Bishop Leopoldo Jaucian (Bangued, Abra), Most Rev. Martin Jumoad (Isabela, Basilan), Archbishop Orlando Quevedo (Cotabato), Most Rev. Ernesto Salgado (Nueva Segovia), Archbishop Romulo Valles (Zamboanga).

“We are grateful for the help extended to us. We still believe that we have not violated any law, or even the Constitution,” Quevedo said.

Quevedo said the vehicles had been greatly useful in helping families displaced by the killing rampage of two Moro Islamic Liberation Front commanders after the botched signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.

“Rest assured that is was not used for personal use,” Valles said, referring to his P1.5-million Toyota Grandia.

Bishop Beltran said he used the PCSO’s P600,000 donation to buy a second-hand 10-year old Nissan Pathfinder pickup, not a Pajero, but it only amounted to P280,000. Beltran recalled how the vehicle helped victims of typhoon “Pepeng” and other calamities.

Bishop Jumoad said the Mitsubishi Strada pickup which he bought using PCSO financial assistance greatly helped in his efforts to help both Muslims and Christians in conflict-stricken Basilan. “When I help, I do not ask faith affiliation, I only see the person as a child of God,” he said.

For his part, Bishop Jaucian said the Mitsubishi Strada purchased out of the P1.29-million donation was used to help the poor communities in Abra.

Bishop Salgado, represented by Bishop William Antonio, said he was returning the vehicle which was used for the social missions of Caritas Nueva Segovia.

 ‘Lapse in judgment’

“I humbly acknowledge that my letter to the President was a lapse in judgment on my part as to the propriety of the procurement of the said vehicle and therefore, I accept full responsibility for this personal action,” Pueblos said during the Blue Ribbon committee hearing.

Pueblos received the P1.704-million donation from the PCSO on July 2, 2009, which he used to purchase a Mitsubishi Montero.

He said it was painful that his intentions in asking for an SUV had been misconstrued.

“This pains me as it pains my diocese, our Episcopal conference and the Philippine Church as a whole. I reiterate my willingness to face the consequences of my lapse in judgment,” he added.

Pueblos’ admission was reminiscent of then President Arroyo’s own declaration of a “lapse in judgment” when she called a poll official, believed to be former Commission on Elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, purportedly to ask him to protect her votes during the canvassing of votes in the 2004 presidential elections.

Pueblos told the committee he made the request to then President Arroyo in a letter dated Feb. 5, 2009 and coursed it through PCSO director Maria Fatima Valdes.

He said he thought the “favor” could help him further promote peace in the Caraga region.

“I really need a brand new car, possibly a 4x4, which I can use to reach the far-flung areas of Caraga,” and that “I hope (she) will never fail to give a brand new car which would serve as (her) birthday gift to me,” part of his letter read.

He said he decided to return the vehicle “after a prayerful discernment” because it has “cast a shadow of uncertainty on my dignity as a bishop and my moral ascendancy as a leader of the Catholic Church.”

“Service often brings suffering. And I pray that our experience of suffering may bring out the best in us; in our government leaders; and in our church as a whole,” Pueblos said.

Ties that bind

Pueblos admitted that he became close to Arroyo when she was still a senator. He was then based in Kidapawan, Cotabato. They met again when Arroyo was vice president during one of her visits to the region to promote an anti-mining bill.

Pueblos also revealed that he had been a member of two commissions created by Mrs. Arroyo - the Melo Commission that investigated extra-judicial killings and one that conducted a study on private armies.

When Senator Estrada asked him about his call for President Aquino to resign, Pueblos said he was only after “change for the betterment of the country.”

“Who am I actually to ask the President to resign?” he asked.

He said he thought there was nothing improper about his request at that time. “The improperness at that time, I don’t actually feel, because she knows the situation in Caraga,” Pueblos explained. 

Asked if he would accept money “from the devil” for the welfare of his flock in Butuan, Pueblos said, “I do believe that there is a possibility.”

But he said, “I’d rather discern on it than accept it at once.” 

Majority leader Vicente Sotto III said there was nothing irregular about the bishops’ having accepted the donations.

Blue Ribbon chairman Sen. Teofisto Guingona III asked Pueblos to explain a portion of his letter request that says “be assured of my utmost support and sincerest prayers to Your Excellency.” Pueblos said what he meant was his support for Arroyo for the projects she initiated in his diocese.

NGO got funds too

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, for his part, revealed that the PCSO had also released funds to a non-government organization that was instrumental in Arroyo’s decision to run in 2004.

Lacson said the “Gawin Natin-Lakas Pinoy” appeared to be very influential with the state gambling agency.

“Why can Gawin Natin Lakas Pinoy get practically anything from PCSO? The secret is Raul Nestor Ancheta, one of the incorporators. Ancheta is the chief of staff of Rosario Uriarte,” he said.

Lacson cited a memo from Uriarte requesting for P2 million, to be charged to the PCSO charity fund, for a supposed feeding project of the Gawin Natin Lakas Pinoy. The memo had an “OK” annotation from then President Arroyo.

Also, stamps on the document indicated the request was received by the Office of the President in August 2003, although the feeding project was scheduled in July.

In another instance, the PCSO deployed a medical team including a physician, two nurses, a driver and paramedics to an October 2003 pro-Arroyo motorcade of the Samahan ng Mamamayan sa Hunta at Destabilisasyon (SMASH-Destabilisasyon) from the People Power Monument in Quezon City to Mendiola. This was after a request was made to Uriarte by Lakas Pinoy through its lawyer Romarleo Ayson.

The Gawin Natin Lakas Pinoy foundation, less than a year old at the time, was behind several “Run, Gloria Run!” posters that sprouted in many parts of the country. With Perseus Echeminada, Reinir Padua, Sheila Crisostomo