Money given to church charities: Vidal admits Pagcor doles

The Cebu Archdiocese yesterday acknowledged that Cebu archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal had been receiving donations from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation.

" Admittedly, duna gyud ( there had been ), " said Cebu Archdiocesan media liaison officer Msgr. Achilles Dakay when sought for comment on reports that named Vidal as among three Philippine bishops who have received huge donations from Pagcor.

" We have been recipients since the time of the Sweepstakes ( Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office ) but the donations are given away to charitable institutions, " Dakay told The Freeman in a phone interview.

Aside from Vidal, the newspaper report named the two other bishops who reportedly received donations from the state-run casino operator and gambling agency as Davao archbishop Fernando Capalla, the outgoing president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, and Archbishop Paciano Aniceto of San Fernando, Pampanga.

The unnamed source of the story reportedly also provided a copy of a memorandum showing the breakdown of " Christmas gifts in the form of cash donations " to five bishops, 45 priests and monsignors and 18 religious groups.

According to the source, Cardinal Vidal allegedly received P500,000 on at least four occasions since 2002, three times by way of checks supposedly cashed on March 4, 2002, February 3, 2003, and March 15, 2004.

Vidal was in Manila yesterday and could not be reached for comment.

Dakay justified the donations, saying that while Vidal did receive them, he never asked to be given anything.

The check donations, Dakay said, just arrive at the prelate's office, already bearing his name.

Dakay said he could not confirm the amount on the checks but said the money is promptly given away to charities and it is these end recipients who should be able to account for the donations.

Vidal's role, Dakay said, was merely to cash the checks and give the money away to hospitals, schools, orphanages, and other institutions that live on donations.

" Adto mo pangayo ug accounting ( that is where you should ask for an accounting ), " Dakay told those " who may want to know if indeed the money was really given away to charity. "

" As far as the cardinal is concerned, he did not, and will not, pocket those donations meant for the Church's poor brethren, " Dakay said.

Dakay said he would have preferred, as is the cardinal, not to receive any donations of any kind from any gambling agencies, including the state-run ones, for fear the perception will be that the church condones gambling.

Dakay explained that the Church is only a conduit between Pagcor and the poor, who make up the majority of the population.

He said there are already parishes here that have stopped soliciting from people or organizations of questionable moral integrity. There are also many who refuse to receive such help following a CBCP order in January 2004 that it does not encourage " this manner of helping the poor. "

" It could easily be construed as approving and promoting the culture of gambling, and thereby scandalize the faithful, " the CBCP said then, according to Dakay..