Church may sanction ‘Pajero bishops’ — Archbishop Cruz

Several bishops who allegedly accepted Mitsubishi Pajeros bought using Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) funds may be sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church for violating propriety and breaking religious vows, an anti-gambling prelate said Thursday. Retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said the violations committed by the bishops may be raised before the Congregation for Bishops in Rome, which will determine appropriate sanctions for them. “May proseso po iyan. Kapag nagkamali po ang pari o obispo, may patakaran kung paano papalabasin ang katotohanan," he said in an interview over radio dzBB on Thursday morning. Cruz said the congregation will likely call for the bishops’ resignations if they are proven guilty of breaking their vows of poverty by accepting vehicles bought using public funds. “Iyon po ay labag sa propriety at labag din sa pananaw ng publiko. Kung may mga tao walang makain, walang matirhan, walang trabaho, tapos kung ikaw ay obispo at pari, maganda ang kotse, nakakaeskandalo po iyon," he said. The archbishop renewed his call to the bishops to just come clean and return the vehicles given to them by the charity agency. “Sabihin nila kung sino sila at isauli kung ano man ang tinanggap… Kung alam mo na ang mga pera na iyan ay hindi naman para sa iyo, ibang usapan na iyan," he said. A Philippine Daily Inquirer report had earlier quoted PCSO chair Margarita Juico as saying that former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had allegedly given Pajeros to six or seven bishops before she stepped down from office. Cruz said he believes the vehicles that Mrs. Arroyo gave to the bishops “had strings attached to them." “Iyong mga bigay na iyon ng nakaraang administrasyon ay hindi binigay pagkat malakas ang pananampalataya o kaya dahil talagang maganda ang kalooban. Hindi po. May kakabit po iyang dahilan kung bakit ka bibigyan," he said. He, however, did not elaborate on why he thinks the former President gave the Pajeros to the bishops. Mrs. Arroyo has yet to comment on the issue, which will be investigated by the Senate blue ribbon committee next week. - KBK, GMA News