PCSO names bishops who got cars under GMA

[Monseratto]

CBCP can't take the heat...

Facing growing scandal, bishops to return SUVs - Nation - GMA News Online - Latest Philippine News

In the midst of a raging controversy involving the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) intelligence funds, the Catholic bishops who benefited from the disbursements said they will return the sports utility vehicles (SUVs) they bought with the PCSO funds, and the Senate blue ribbon committee chair asked former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to explain her role in how the money was used.

[Ry_Tower]

CBCP can't take the heat...

Facing growing scandal, bishops to return SUVs - Nation - GMA News Online - Latest Philippine News

Walang joepiter, biglang nahimasmasan ah.

[keithdb]

why is there no clamor for Pueblos to resign? he has brought disgrace to the catholic church, he should be made to resign.

[piscesboy]

why is there no clamor for Pueblos to resign? he has brought disgrace to the catholic church, he should be made to resign.

resign? tularan nalang si Angie, hinihintay na siya e.

[CoDer]

Padre Damaso mentality will never leave this country.

[Altis6453]

why is there no clamor for Pueblos to resign? he has brought disgrace to the catholic church, he should be made to resign.

According to Oscar Cruz (who is a Canon Lawyer), bishops are answerable only to the Pope. So, unless Benedict XVI says "resign!", De Dios Pueblos won't be leaving his office anytime soon. Also, the CBCP, to no one's surprise, has come out with a statement supporting the Pajero 7.

[Ry_Tower]

According to Oscar Cruz (who is a Canon Lawyer), bishops are answerable only to the Pope. So, unless Benedict XVI says "resign!", De Dios Pueblos won't be leaving his office anytime soon. Also, the CBCP, to no one's surprise, has come out with a statement supporting the Pajero 7.

Ang labo naman ng CBCP oh.

[ghosthunter]

According to Oscar Cruz (who is a Canon Lawyer), bishops are answerable only to the Pope. So, unless Benedict XVI says "resign!", De Dios Pueblos won't be leaving his office anytime soon. Also, the CBCP, to no one's surprise, has come out with a statement supporting the Pajero 7.

Kinda undermines their "moral compass" argument on other current "hot" issues like the RH bill.

[Ry_Tower]

Kinda undermines their "moral compass" argument on other current "hot" issues like the RH bill.

Mismo! nak nang...

[buriroy]

Naku patay kang bata ka, si Cardinal Vidal pa yata ang maghe-head ng CBCP fact-finding and investigating body. Hindi ba panay din dati ang upak nito kay PNoy at depensa kay Gloria. I smell whitewash.

[111prez]

vidal to head the probe????

isa yan sa maraming hiningi at binigyan ni gma

expect a whitewash :evil:

[Altis6453]

If in case the "good" bishops still don't get it:

Quoting from the Philippine Daily Inquirer
Editorial July 9, 2011

STILL CLUELESS

THE GOOD bishops still don’t get it, do they?

The reactions so far of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines to the furor over some of its members having received luxury vehicles from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo indicates that even the so-called moral leaders of this nation are not immune to misplacing their ethical bearings—if need be.

The clueless response: “I don’t know why they take it against us and make it appear scandalous,” by Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla. The dilatory parry: “There are other beneficiaries who are not from the Catholic Church,” by Tandag Bishop Nereo Odchimar. The petulant riposte: “If P-Noy wants to get it, it’s ready,” by Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad, referring to the Mitsubishi Strada he bought with a P1.1-million donation from the PCSO.

Then there’s the victim card: “The main intention of the PCSO is to destroy the credibility of the bishops,” by Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles. Another variant: “This issue has already divided and damaged CBCP,” by Butuan Bishop Juan De Dios Pueblos, whose obsequious request for a P1.7-million Montero Sport was the most eyebrow-raising of the transactions. (For good measure, he also called President Aquino “vindictive,” blaming Malacañang for the straits he’s in.) Next—the non sequitur: “Is it because of the bishops’ position on the RH bill?” by Odchimar again. And, finally, the classic, hugely dispiriting, cop-out: The CBCP’s individual members are “directly” answerable to the Pope; CBCP itself, said Odchimar, cannot sanction erring bishops.

The Church leaders’ inability to recognize the gravity of the situation they’re in might, in time, turn out to be the more perverse and telling part of this still-unfolding saga. Perhaps, Pueblos and his colleagues remain stuck in the denial stage—unable to comprehend, unwilling to accept that their actions in this regard raise disturbing questions about the very foundation of their calling as ministers: their character and moral moorings. A church without moral ascendancy—one with leaders who, defying expectations, turn out to be perfectly willing participants and enablers in the kind of sleazy, slimy politics they so love to damn to high heavens in their homilies—is a church in serious trouble.

Receiving funds from the PCSO is not the main issue, although even there the Church already finds itself in a bind given its regular denunciations of gambling as an immoral activity. There is a good reason many private companies prefer to channel their charity efforts and donations through the Church. Groups like Caritas Manila have done a commendable job through the years in reaching out to the poor and dispossessed, and the Church is rightly seen as a conscientious, well-placed, highly organized entity that can ensure that endowments and offerings for the less privileged will reach their intended beneficiaries.

The devil, however, that the bishops seem terribly anxious to dodge with the flurry of distracting, extraneous details cluttering their outcries is this: They got their emoluments and vehicles from Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who needed to have the Church by her side throughout her tumultuous, scandal-wracked reign. The PCSO donations did not happen within a vacuum, as a happy case of happenstance, with no strings attached and no payback expected. One of their own is forthright enough to admit it. Retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said it was “impossible” for Ms Arroyo to accommodate the bishops without some quid pro quo. “If this is to give to Church ventures, bakit ako hihingi dito sa gobyerno? Kapag humingi ka sa gobyerno, nakatali ang kamay mo.”

There’s the fly in the blessed ointment. At a time when the nation needed the moral strength and clarity of the Church as the Arroyo administration lurched from one outrageous impropriety to the next, where were its bishops? Being wined and dined, it now appears—showered with largesse, gifted with SUVs, comfortably set up in what would be called the “Malacañang diocese.” Was it “to buy their silence and cooperation?” wondered Fr. Oliver Mendoza, parish priest of San Fabian town in Pangasinan.

Mendoza needs only to read Pueblos’ letter to GMA, henceforth Exhibit A of this disgraceful moment in the local Catholic Church, to find the answer. For a brand-new 4×4 “as your birthday gift to me,” it said, “be assured of my constant support.”

[Ry_Tower]

Nabulag nga sa HID ng Pajero kaya ganyan,

they can't see the truth na!

[dieselNUBI]

tama ba dinig ko? tanong ni Sen. Lacson kung meron ba at magkano debt ng PCSO.. ang sagot e Php 3 billion.

sa BIR at suppliers daw.

[Ry_Tower]

^ pero kung makapagpamudmod ng pera akala mo BSP! :jawdrop:

[cutedoc]

i am a catholic and it it very shameful that a bishop is asking for something that is not worthy of how he is suppose to live in the eye of of people, unless the letter send to gma is a hoax, i really frowned on this incident. for the bishops do clean your acts!

[Ry_Tower]

i am a catholic and it it very shameful that a bishop is asking for something that is not worthy of how he is suppose to live in the eye of of people, unless the letter send to gma is a hoax, i really frowned on this incident. for the bishops do clean your acts!

Sana may taga-CBCP na tsikot member para mabasa din mga post dito, tutal may mga nice rides naman pala sila!

[Altis6453]

Anybody here buying the BS Federico Pascual is selling?

Taken from The Philippine Star
July 10, 2011

Bishops weren't given fair hearing on PCSO
POSTSCRIPT By Federico D. Pascual Jr. (The Philippine Star) Updated July 10, 2011 12:00 AM Comments (26) View comments


DOUBLE DEALING: Sweepstakes Chair Margie Juico, a devout Catholic, should not have allowed herself to be used in the administration’s campaign to demonize the Catholic Church and its bishops who refuse to support birth control legislation.

It was most unkind for the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office to pretend to be generous in donating money for the Church to buy utility vehicles for social work — and then using the donation to put bishops in bad light in the scandal-oriented media.

Individuals who value their reputation are put on notice not to accept money or aid from the PCSO. One never knows when the PCSO will disclose the donation in a twisted context to embarrass the recipient when he crosses the administration.

* * *

PETTY CASH: There would not be any need for the Church and other non-government organizations to move in a big way in helping the poor if only the administration were already looking after their welfare.

Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal told the STAR: “Poor people always knock on our doors, and these vehicles are used for many purposes, for delivery of health and education services. We cannot close our doors to all those who seek our help.”

Actually, the money given by the PCSO to some dioceses for their social amelioration projects is petty cash compared to the billions being funneled to the President’s social and intelligence funds by the PCSO and other cash cows.

The bishops should have been warned that their accepting state funds may not sit well with government Big Shots who think they have an exclusive access to public funds.

* * *

NOT LUXURIOUS: The PCSO donated money for luxury vans, but most bishops bought instead second-hand 4x4 heavy-duty vehicles that can reach depressed areas despite the bad roads neglected by the government. They used the balance to extend additional assistance.

Although the vehicles are used mainly by social workers of the Church, the money is listed in the PCSO books in the name of the concerned bishop.

Without explaining this detail, Ms Juico played along with the administration campaign to smear the bishops. She pretended to be only the bearer of information from the Commission on Audit.

Led on by the supporting cast in the Senate – and emboldened by the fire support of presidential spokespersons trying hard to sound like disinterested onlookers — Ms Juico succeeded in maligning the bishops.

* * *

LEGISLATIVE LYNCHING: Now senators are luring the bishops to attend their tarring session and thereby worsen their PR problem by their unfamiliarity with the tricks of legislative lynching.

Instead of consenting to their own public hanging, the bishops should return to Ms Juico either the money or the vehicles – and then pray for her, the senators and the talking serpents in the Palace.

Returning the donations will not be an admission of wrongdoing, but an expression of disgust.

Talaga naman itong si Pascual.

Huling huli na nga si De Dios Pueblos na humingi ng 4x4 Monteropara sa kanya wala lang yun kasi para sa mahirap.

Mr. Pascual, how many cars does the PCSO have to give, or better, how much money does the PCSO have to give personally to a bishop before it becomes wrong?

So, Margie Juico shouldn't have raised this anomaly just because she's a "devout catholic"? That's mafia reasoning right there. Like, we shouldn't call out someone for wrongdoing just because we have the same religion or belong to the same group.

Gangsta anyway you look at it.

[ans_lim168]

If the bishops need vehicles fr their missionary works, then why didn't they course their request to the CBCP ? Let the council do the work for the procurement of the said vehicles, at least there's no controversies that will arise out of it. Now that they were exposed, they are crying out that they are being singled out ........ they should be responsible for their actions and face the music if they have committed a mistake in judgement.

I wonder what Bishop de Dios will deliver in his privilege speech in the senate this week ? Obviously to wash his hands off any liabilities as what Pilate did to Jesus.

[keithdb]

sa yaman ng catholic church they should be able to afford vehicles. ang problema kasi may % ang vatican sa mga kinikita ng simbahan.