Butuan bishop admits getting P1.7-million SUV

BUTUAN CITY, Philippines – Diocese of Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos yesterday admitted receiving a sports utility vehicle (SUV) worth P1.7 million, but justified that it was given to him as a birthday gift by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

In an interview with dxBR Bombo Radyo, Pueblos chided the Aquino administration and said he suspected that his closeness with the former president may have something to do with the unnecessary trouble he is now in.

The prelate hit President Aquino’s “vindictive” attitude, saying the Filipino people will soon know who he really is. He said an exposé about the President’s real character will be out before his State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Pueblos admitted that Arroyo attended his birthday celebration three times and it was in one of those occasions that he requested, through a letter, a vehicle that he could use for his community service.

“The Caraga Conference for Peace and Development (CCPD) that I organized helps many people, and it was there where the vehicle was used,” he said.

He said the vehicle came in handy when Arroyo appointed him as one of the members of the fact-finding team that investigated unexplained killings in the country and it was only proper that the government provided him with one since the task was already out of his church work.

“This issue has already divided and damaged CBCP (Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines),” he said.

In an earlier interview with local newsmen here, Bishop Pueblos said he will just pray for President Aquino for all that he had done to the Church.

He said he suspected that the Church’s official stand against RH bill and same sex marriage started the animosity between the Aquino adminstration and the Catholic Church.