'PORKS
BUTUAN CITY,
JULY 8, 2011 (STAR) By Ben Serrano - Diocese of Butuan
Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos (photo) yesterday admitted receiving a sports
utility vehicle (SUV) worth P1.7 million, but justified that it was given to him
as a birthday gift by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
In an interview with dxBR Bombo Radyo, Pueblos chided the Aquino
administration and said he suspected that his closeness with the former
president may have something to do with the unnecessary trouble he is now in.
The prelate hit President Aquino's "vindictive" attitude, saying the Filipino
people will soon know who he really is. He said an exposé about the President's
real character will be out before his State of the Nation Address (SONA).
Pueblos admitted that Arroyo attended his birthday celebration three times
and it was in one of those occasions that he requested, through a letter, a
vehicle that he could use for his community service.
"The Caraga Conference for Peace and Development (CCPD) that I organized
helps many people, and it was there where the vehicle was used," he said.
He said the vehicle came in handy when Arroyo appointed him as one of the
members of the fact-finding team that investigated unexplained killings in the
country and it was only proper that the government provided him with one since
the task was already out of his church work.
"This issue has already divided and damaged CBCP (Catholic Bishops'
Conference of the Philippines)," he said.
In an earlier interview with local newsmen here, Bishop Pueblos said he will
just pray for President Aquino for all that he had done to the Church.
He said he suspected that the Church's official stand against RH bill and
same sex marriage started the animosity between the Aquino adminstration and the
Catholic Church.
Bishops say donated vehicles not luxurious By
Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star) Updated July 07, 2011 12:00 AMComments (51)
[Photo provided by the archdiocese of Cotabato shows a donated
vehicle being used in a medical mission to a disaster-hit town of the
province.]
MANILA, Philippines - Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal yesterday said
that none of the vehicles donated by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office
(PCSO) to certain Catholic bishops were luxurious and all of them, as well as
other donations from the state-run firm, were used for projects for the poor.
Vidal lamented that the PCSO and the Commission on Audit (COA) did not even
bother to check first with the bishops concerned before announcing to the media
the supposedly immoral and illegal donations.
"They (PCSO and COA) should have had the fairness to inquire with us first or
ask us what this is all about," Vidal told The STAR in an interview at his
residence in Mandaluyong City.
"Poor people always knock on our doors, and these vehicles are used for many
purposes, for delivery of health and education services. We cannot close our
doors to all those who seek our help," he said.
The prelate issued the statement as members of the CBCP are in closed retreat
in Tagaytay to tackle social issues.
While Vidal was not part of the controversy, he said he felt he needed to
help the bishops clarify issues to the public.
He showed pictures of some of the vehicles donated by the PCSO taken before
the controversy came out that showed they were used for charity projects.
He also detailed the use and the nature of the donations given to the
so-called "Pajero 7" bishops since 2007 and stressed none of them got brand-new
Mitsubishi Pajeros.
Bontoc-Lagawe Bishop Rodolfo Beltran, who was given P600,000 in April 2007,
used the amount to purchase a 10-year-old Nissan Pathfinder pick-up amounting to
P280,000 that was used for medical missions in far-flung areas in his diocese.
The rest of the funds were used for the Alay Kapwa programs of the church.
Abra Bishop Leopoldo Jaucian, who received a donation amounting to P1.129
million in January 2009, used the fund to buy a second-hand Mitsubishi pick-up
that was used to ferry personnel and materials for various projects of his
diocese.
Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo also received a donation for the purchase
of a Pajero as reported by a newspaper in 2009, but what was bought was a van
and the rest of the funds was used by the Social Action Center (SAC) of the
archdiocese for distribution of medicine and other relief goods during
calamities in Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, North Cotabato, Cotabato City, and
Shariff Kabungsuan.
Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad was also reported to have received funds to buy
a Pajero, but the amount was used to buy a pick-up for community work in
depressed areas in the province.
The same was the case for Bishops Romulo Valles of the Archdiocese of
Zamboanga and Ernesto Salgado of Ilocos Sur, who bought a Toyota van and an
Isuzu utility vehicle for their respective SACs. The remainder of the donation
was used for various medical outreach programs for poor families.
A Church official said while Butuan City Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos indeed
requested a 4x4 vehicle from the PCSO and then President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo, there was apparently already a request from the bishop for a
vehicle from the PCSO and he just wanted to follow it up in time for his
birthday.
"He was not only the bishop of four provinces, Surigao del Sur, Surigao del
Norte, Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte, but he was also a member of the CARAGA
peace and order council, and was a member of other bodies, including the
Zeñarosa Commission that was tasked to dismantle private armies," the official
said.
He also noted that most of the bishops named by the PCSO were administering
to dioceses where unpaved roads and poor communities are located in hard to
reach areas, which was why there were specific request for 4X4s or utility
vehicles and vans.
The same official noted that the COA report spoke of a P1.5-billion PCSO
private account not authorized by the Department of Finance and P1.961 billion
in questionable expenses, but the agency and the PCSO chose to focus on the P6.9
million in "questionable" donations to the Catholic Church. "Why single us out?"
he asked.
CBCP president Tandag Bishop Nereo Odchimar, meanwhile, wrote a two-page
letter to Sen. Teofisto Guingona III yesterday saying the bishops are prepared
to explain before the Senate to air their side of the matter.
"The bishop does not own the donation but holds it in trust for public use of
his Diocese. Hence, the donation is not given to the bishop as such. Whatever
benefit the Catholic Church may draw from the gift is purely incidental," a
portion of Odchimar's letter read.
PCSO fund turned into Palace 'pork' By Christina
Mendez (The Philippine Star) Updated July 07, 2011 12:00 AM
[PCSO chair Margarita Juico answers questions from senators
during a hearing yesterday. Photos below show the check issued to the diocese of
Butuan for the purchase of a service vehicle, which Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos
(right) said was a birthday gift from then President Gloria Arroyo. JONJON VICENCIO]
MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) is
being used as a source of pork barrel funds by sitting presidents, Sen. Francis
Escudero declared yesterday.
He said the PCSO had become the milking cow of the past administration to
favor "a selected few" of its allies, notwithstanding the mandate of the agency
to service all Filipinos in need.
"Based on these discoveries mostly culled from Commission on Audit (COA)
reports, the PCSO is used somewhat as a pork barrel by the past sitting
president, favoring only a selected few," Escudero said.
He explained the PCSO was meant to service the health and medical needs of
all indigent Filipinos, but the agency was being used instead to reward "those
who fall on the good side of the sitting president."
Sen. Ralph Recto said the PCSO has about P30 billion in cash at its disposal,
which is almost the same amount as the budget of the Department of Health.
With a target income of P100 billion in the next five years, Recto noted the
misuse of PCSO funds could not be addressed because the government has so much
discretionary funds at its disposal.
Noting that the PCSO has mandatory contributions to some government agencies,
Recto said it is about time that the income of the agency should be directed to
the national treasury.
Recto and Escudero proposed that the income generated by the PCSO should be
placed under the general appropriations act.
Both lawmakers recommended a stricter audit of PCSO funds to prevent abuse
and misuse.
Recto, chairman of the Senate ways and means committee, noted the additional
funds given to the PCSO do not undergo congressional scrutiny during budget
deliberations.
Neither is the PSCO mandated by law to submit a report to Congress regarding
its income and on how the funds are disbursed by the agency, he said.
Escudero and Recto made their observations as PCSO chair Margie Juico agreed
on the need to review the agency charter.
Juico stressed before the Senate Blue Ribbon committee the need for the PCSO
to readjust its mandate under a new charter because the agency has so many
mandatory obligations.
"Most of the mandatory obligations listed here do not have anything to do
with our mandate that is health programs, medical assistance and services, and
charity," Juico said.
Escudero noted the PCSO is mandated by virtue of special laws to contribute
funds to the Philippine Sports Commission, Commission on Higher Education,
Comprehensive and Integrated Shelter and Urban Development Financing Program,
among other national agencies.
The PCSO allocates five percent to local government units from the total
sales of online lotto outlets operating within their jurisdictions, including a
documentary stamp tax from the donations.
Under the Migrant Workers Act of 1995, P150 million shall be funded from the
proceeds of lotto draws taken from the Charity Fund for the Congressional
Migrant Workers Scholarship Fund.
There is also P250 million from the annual net earnings from lotto for the
Museum Endowment Fund.
Under Executive Order 201, a P1-billion standby fund is mandated for the
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) awareness and health promotion
campaign, while another P1 billion is on standby for the operations and programs
of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
'Purely incidental'
The Senate Blue Ribbon committee led by Sen. Teofisto Guingona III yesterday
began its investigation into the PCSO fund mess on the allegations that some
personalities allied with the previous administration were given favors through
its charity funds.
During yesterday's hearing, Escudero stressed the PCSO should ensure a more
equitable distribution of its allotment after issues relating to fund misuse and
unfair allocation were discovered in the agency.
Escudero said the country's premiere charity institution should come up with
strict and clear guidelines on how funding will be equitably and judiciously
distributed among areas where assistance is really needed.
The senators noted the need to scrutinize how the PCSO funds are used in the
wake of reports that some bishops may have illegally received donations from the
government's lotto operator in exchange for political favors.
Juico told the senators during the hearing that an audit showed that at least
P6.9 million in charity funds were used to buy five vehicles upon the request of
several bishops.
In a letter to the Senate, Archbishop Nereo Odchimar, president of the
Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said any donation to a
bishop goes to the diocese and is not the clergy's personal property.
"Whatever benefit the Catholic Church may draw from the gift is purely
incidental," he said.
Odchimar added they were willing to "face the consequences" of receiving
financial aid from government because he said it is channeled to the needy.
"Our conscience is clear," Odchimar said.
Odchimar said the CBCP took the initiative to look into the 2009 COA report
on the PCSO where the revelations of fund misuse made by Juico were based.
The COA report indicated that five vehicles costing P6.94 million were
granted to Catholic Church archdioceses and charged to the Charity Fund of the
PCSO "contrary to Article VI, Section 29 (2) of the 1987 Philippine
Constitution."
"In response to allegations regarding the impropriety, if not illegality, of
PCSO financial assistance being extended to the Catholic Church, we truly
believe there was no violation of the law," Odchimar said in his letter.
'Kickbacks'
The Senate also issued subpoenas to two former officials of the PCSO who
allegedly got millions in kickbacks from its charity fund.
This developed after two advertisers claimed former PCSO advertising and
promotions manager Manuel Garcia collected as much as 20 percent or about P1.5
billion in kickbacks from promotions.
Former PCSO general manager Rosario Uriarte was also issued a subpoena to
appear before the panel and explain the allegations that she encashed a total of
P315 million in intelligence funds from the PCSO.
Alexander Quisumbing of Quizgem and Ludovico Yuseco of Cross-Channel
Advertising alleged Garcia had "demanded his share" from them in exchange for
the approval of the proposed advertising plans from 2003 to 2010.
Quisumbing testified that he used to deposit the 40 percent kickback in cash
and checks to Garcia's bank accounts.
Audit records also revealed the PCSO spent around P 7.3 billion from 2007 to
2010 in advertising and promotions.
With such amount, Sen. Franklin Drilon said Garcia could have received P1.5
billion in kickbacks from the advertising contracts from 2003 to 2010.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, on the other hand, noted the allegations
of the incumbent PCSO board that Uriarte encashed P315 million from the charity
fund.
PCSO board member Aleta Tolentino told the hearing that the amount encashed
by Uriarte was converted into an intelligence fund.
Tolentino claimed the authorization was contained in a memorandum of Uriarte
to former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo dated Jan. 4, 2010 requesting for
intelligence funds for the charity agency.
Uriarte reportedly requested for intelligence funds to finance personnel in
monitoring illegal gambling activities aimed in countering the Small Town
Lottery (STL) operations in the countryside.
Enrile said the amount withdrawn by Uriarte could be bigger than the
intelligence funds of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
"These are sizable funds which, if cannot be properly explained, could be
plunder," Drilon also remarked during the hearing.
Drilon and Enrile urged the committee to make the necessary representations
to the Bureau of Immigration to place Garcia and Uriarte on the watchlist.
During the hearing, PCSO general manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas said the agency
had reduced their advertising and promotions budget by P379 million.
The original P 929-million budget, according to the PCSO report, had been the
source of the P315-million intelligence fund that was diverted with the supposed
authorization from Arroyo in 2008 and 2009.
'There could be more'
Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares also urged an investigation into allegations
that members of the PCSO board during the Arroyo administration gave themselves
housing units.
"The old PCSO board illegally awarded themselves units in the agency's
housing site in Taytay and Antipolo when they are not regular employees,"
Colmenares said.
"Congress must investigate this anomaly," he added.
Colmenares delivered a privilege speech on various irregularities in the PCSO
during the Arroyo administration.
At the same time, Colmenares asked the Department of Justice to place Uriarte
in the immigration's watchlist to prevent her from leaving the country.
"She is a flight risk and has to be monitored as she is crucial in getting to
the bottom of the PSCO fund scam," he said.
Another congressman, Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tañada, asked the PCSO to be
"thoroughly clear and strict" in the selection of recipients of its ambulances,
especially if they happen to be House members.
Tañada cited the report made by PCSO general manager Roxas who claimed that
certain politicians emblazoned the ambulances with their images and names, and
used them for non-medical purposes.
Tañada said PCSO ambulances "are for human survival and not to prolong the
political careers of abusive politicians."
Malacañang, on the other hand, said all these allegations stemming from the
PCSO fund mess formed part of the policy of transparency of the Aquino
administration.
"We are glad that the PCSO is doing its job of promoting transparency in
their search for the truth," presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.
Lacierda noted the ongoing Senate investigation into the anomalies in the
previous PCSO leadership.
"It's nothing personal, it is just work that they are doing. So, it is
something they are doing based on their mandate to promote good governance," he
said.
Lacierda said it would be up to the bishops concerned whether they will be
bothered by their conscience and return the vehicles given to them.
"We will leave it to them to decide the best and proper thing to do in this
case," he said. –With Marvin Sy, Jess Diaz, Perseus
Echeminada, Delon Porcalla, Paolo Romero, AP
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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