I’ll just leave everything to God, says Dy on bishop’s stand

ILAGAN, Isabela — "I respect his stand. I’ll just leave everything to Him (God)."

Thus said Gov. Faustino Dy Jr. in reaction to Bayombong Bishop Ramon Villena’s refusal to issue a public apology for implicating him in the short-lived resurgence of jueteng in neighboring Nueva Vizcaya last February.

Dy also told The STAR in a cellular phone interview yesterday that he was no longer interested in pursuing the multimillion-peso libel case he earlier had planned to file against the bishop for his "malicious and baseless" accusations.

"Bahala na ang Diyos sa amin (Let God take care of us). Just leave everything to Him," Dy said.

He reiterated his innocence over the bishop’s accusations. "I don’t have anything to do with the resurgence of jueteng in his diocese. I will never be a party to any illegal activities," he said.

Villena, whose Bayombong diocese covers the landlocked provinces of Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino, also accused Chief Superintendent Romulo Sales, Cagayan Valley police director, of being involved in the jueteng’s revival in his diocese. Sales also denied the allegations.

"He (Villena) owes an apology to the people of Isabela. He should apologize to them for putting the province in a bad light by dragging my name in such a controversy. But I respect his stand if he refuses to do so," Dy said.

Last month, the Isabela provincial board unanimously passed a resolution urging Villena to clear Dy from the controversy by issuing a public apology.

"A public apology by Bishop Ramon Villena is neither a sign of pressure nor a demonstration that he is recapitulating in his crusade against jueteng, but more so, in the propriety and humaneness of recognizing the innocence of (Dy) as to his allegations," the resolution stated.

Reacting to the board members’ resolution, Villena said, "Apologies are only made by those who committed mistakes. I will only apologize if I have fabricated my statement, which (I did) not."

Instead, Villena, co-chairman of the influential Bishops-Businessmen Conference, said local officials should be thankful to him for continuously reminding them of their job.

Two years ago, Villena got the ire of Nueva Vizcaya Gov. Rodolfo Agbayani after disclosing that the biggest recipient of jueteng payola in the province carried the codename "Palmolive."

A television network that subsequently interviewed Villena allegedly alluded that the alias belonged to Agbayani, thus resulting in animosities between him and the bishop that lasted for weeks.

In 1998, the Nueva Vizcaya provincial board also passed a resolution, declaring Villena a persona non grata after branding local officials as "weaklings" for their alleged failure to stamp out jueteng in the province.