Prelate unfazed by threat of revived libel charge from Pagcor

MANILA, Philippines - An anti-gambling Catholic bishop remained unfazed over the possibility of a three-year-old libel case being revived against him by workers of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor). Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said he is willing to go to jail if only to call national attention to the "evils of Pagcor," adding he will not apologize for his claim that Pagcor made "GROs" out of its workers. "I'm not going to make an apology. I'm willing to go to jail. I want to prove to the people that Pagcor management is oppressive because it has money," he said in a statement posted on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines Web site (www.cbcpnews.com) Thursday. He was referring to the Justice department's review of an appeal by 20 Pagcor female employees who charged him with libel for claiming Pagcor turned them into GROs at a birthday party for First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo. The women said they were hurt when Cruz depicted them as "GROs" during the birthday party at Malacañang of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's husband in 2004. The complainants had filed at the DOJ a petition for review of the case after it was dismissed in 2005. Cruz maintained he never said anything libelous against the women. The prelate, who heads the Kilusang Bayan Laban sa Jueteng, is currently criticizing a new Las Vegas-style casino complex being built by Pagcor at a reclaimed area in Pasay City. It was in 2004 when the 20 women, 17 from Pagcor and three from the Office of the First Gentleman, sued Cruz for libel after he refused to make an apology over his statement. According to the CBCP, Cruz's statement was "apparently aimed at the Pagcor" for giving its female workers "an embarrassing assignment to entertain the First Gentleman and his close associates." In a three-page statement bearing the name of the Allado, Mendoza & Associates law office, the lady PAGCOR employees belied everything that the prelate said. - GMANews.TV