CBCP says sorry for PCSO scandal

MANILA, Philippines - The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) expressed remorse yesterday over the “pain and sadness” inflicted on the faithful by the controversy over the lavish donations of funds for expensive vehicles to seven of its members from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

The bishops expressed their “deep sorrow” in a pastoral statement titled “A Time of Pain, A Time of Grace,” read by the CBCP’s outgoing president, Tandag, Surigao del Sur Bishop Nereo Odchimar.

“As shepherds struggling to love you like Jesus the Good Shepherd, we are sorry for the pain and sadness that these events have brought upon you,” the CBCP statement said.

“We are saddened that many of you, especially the youth, the poor, our Basic Ecclesial Communities, have been confused because of the apparent inconsistency of our actions with our pastoral preaching,” the CBCP said.

“We assure you that the bishops concerned are ready to accept responsibility for their action and to face the consequences if it would be proven unlawful, anomalous, and unconstitutional. We assure you that their action was done without malice,” Odchimar said, reading from the statement.

The seven prelates who bought expensive sport utility vehicles using donations from the PCSO were Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos, Bontoc Lagawe Bishop Rodolfo Beltran, Abra Bishop Leopoldo Jaucian, Cotabato Archbishop Orlando

Quevedo, Zamboanga Bishop Romulo Valles, Prelature of Isabela Bishop Martin Jumoad and Ilocos Sur Archbishop Ernesto Salgado.

Odchimar said it was their desire to help the people that prompted the bishops to receive donations from the PCSO.

“They also expressed their readiness to do everything that is necessary to heal this wound so that we can all move forward in hope,” he said.

The CBCP president also assured the faithful that they would re-examine the nature of their collaboration with government agencies regarding charity activities.

“We commit ourselves to the long journey of personal and social transformation required of all disciples of the Lord. We plead with you to walk with us in this path of constant renewal,” he added.

In its statement, the CBCP also asked the public “to be slow in judgment and to conscientiously seek the whole truth behind the controversy.”

“Let us seek the truth always in charity,” the CBCP statement read.

He explained that the controversy has deeply hurt the Church and has even divided the faithful.

“There is no doubt that everywhere in the Church there is great sorrow. We your pastors are one with you,” the CBCP said.

The pastoral statement was issued on the third and final day of the CBCP 103rd Plenary Assembly at the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center on UN Avenue in Manila. More than 60 active and retired prelates attended the gathering.

There are Tagalog, Ilokano and Cebuano versions of the pastoral statement.

CBCP secretary-general Monsignor Juanito Figura said the statement was a product of days of “careful study, listening to one another, meditation and above all prayers that the bishops have been doing these past days.”

He also called it a “sincere gesture of solidarity and charity of the conference as a body of bishops to the individual seven bishops implicated in the so-called controversy with the PCSO.”

“In a special way, this document is also CBCP’s way of expressing its concern to the so many people who up to this point may have been so confused, saddened by this controversy,” Figura said.

Odchimar and Figura declined to say more to the media, saying they don’t want to preempt a Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing on the issue tomorrow.

“The bishops have the common consensus that they value and highly respect the forum of the hearing of the Senate that will happen on Wednesday morning,” Figura said.

He said that six of the seven bishops in the PCSO fund scam might show up at the Senate tomorrow. Archbishop Salgado is reportedly out of the country. He had left the country before the controversy broke out.

The CBCP secretary-general cannot say if lawyers will accompany the bishops in their Senate appearance.

He said it’s not for the CBCP to decide whether to return the vehicles or not.

“It would not be the body that would decide. It might be good if the body would not answer since it (vehicles) was not given to the body in the first place,” he said.

The scandal stemmed from accusations that then president and now Pampanga congresswoman Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo used the PCSO funds to give the seven bishops sport utlity vehicles and P8.38 million ($196,000) in cash between 2007 and 2010 to buy their support.

The cars and donations came as Arroyo faced an impeachment crisis stemming from accusations of corruption and that she rigged the 2004 presidential elections.

The Senate is investigating the allegations against the bishops, specifically probing whether the donations were illegal and violated the constitutional separation of church and state.

Health reasons

Odchimar, meanwhile, said health reasons have prompted him to beg off from serving a second term as CBCP president and not the PCSO controversy or the Reproductive Health bill.

CBCPNews, the official news service provider of the CBCP, reported that Odchimar declined re-election for health reasons.

On Dec. 1, Cebu Archbishop and CBCP vice president Jose Palma will succeed the 70-year-old Odchimar.

Traditionally, the CBCP president and vice president can serve for a minimum of two terms, and they are usually reelected.

Even before the CBCP election, Odchimar had already expressed his desire not to serve his second term.

The position requires Odchimar to travel a lot to represent the CBCP in local and international meetings.

From Tandag in Surigao del Sur, Odchimar had to make a “difficult travel” to Davao City for four hours to take an airplane to Manila where the physical office of the CBCP president is located.

“Bishop Odchimar asked not to be nominated anymore for health reasons and (because of) the difficulty of traveling from Tandag to Manila for necessary trips,” Figura said.

In Butuan City, the former speechwriter of Pueblos denied writing the bishop’s controversial solicitation letter to Arroyo asking for an SUV as birthday gift.

Tyrone Calo also told The STAR the letter request was “inappropriate.” He said he only learned of Pueblo’s letter in the news. Calo was Agusan del Sur provincial board member and former Caraga Conference for Peace and Development (CCPD) secretary. Calo said he now works for Nieves, Agusan del Norte Parish Priest Fr. Lito Clase, CCPD secretariat head.

Calo admitted that Pueblos was so influential during the Arroyo administration, so much so that “funding either coming from government, NGOs and private companies whether it is logging and mining firms, come so easy.” 

“In fairness to bishop he may have good purpose to request then President Arroyo who even attended Bishop Pueblos’ birthday celebration thrice,” Calo said. – With Ben Serrano