Bishop urges officials in 'pork' list to take a leave

MANILA, Philippines - A Catholic bishop on Wednesday urged the senators and government officials, who have been included in the list of businesswoman Janet Napoles, to take a six-month leave of absence.

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said that taking a leave of absence from their offices while the investigation on the P10 billion pork barrel scam is ongoing is a sign of delicadeza.

The bishop said this will also give way to an impartial and credible investigation on the controversy.

"Kaya yung mga nasasangkot na mga mambabatas kung talaga wala silang kinalaman why they don’t take a leave for a while. Mga six months upang maging maayos ang imbestigasyon," the bishop said.

"Lahat ng nakalista doon if they want to have an impartial investigation nararapat na mag-leave muna para man lang magkarooon ng impartial investigation para man lang ma-clear ang kanilang pangalan. Kung sinasabi nila na wala silang kinalaman, they have to help to facilitate the investigation. Pero kung magdadahilan sila, ibig sabihin may kinalalaman sila diyan," Bishop Pabillo told Radyo Veritas," he added.

The prelate also challenged legislators who had transacted with Napoles, the alleged brains behind the multi-billion peso racket, to come out clean and own up to their misdeeds.

"Panawagan din natin na kung sino nagkakamali, umamin na, wala namang mali kapag umaamin ka. Paninindigan pa ba ang mali?" Bishop Pabillo said.

The bishop added that the Senate should not be the one to conduct the investigation but the Office of the Ombudsman.