PCSO OFFICIALS IN QUANDARY OVER SUVs RETURNED BY BISHOPS
MANILA, JULY 22, 2011 (STAR) Used SUVs OK, but PCSO needs cash? - Officials of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office are in a quandary after Catholic bishops returned the controversial vehicles, already used, that were bought with funds donated to them by the PCSO.
Eduardo Araullo, PCSO board secretary, told The STAR that they are coordinating with the Commission on Audit (COA) on what to do with the four vehicles turned over by the bishops after they attended a Senate public hearing over the PCSO fund misuse last week.
"The PCSO has released checks to the bishops so we want to know from COA if we could accept the secondhand vehicles," he said, adding the cars were registered under the names of the bishops or their parishes.
"We will be having legal problems with COA," he said.
Araullo said since the PCSO issued checks to the bishops, it probably would have been more proper if the bishops returned checks instead of vehicles.
According to a report submitted by PCSO acquired assets department, the vehicles were turned over to the PCSO by the beneficiaries of the PCSO grants in 2009.
The vehicles now at the PCSO parking area of the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay include a white Mitsubishi Strada with license plate ZTP 593 registered to Bangued Bishop Leopoldo Corpuz Jaucian. The vehicle was registered up to year 2011 but there were no documents on its insurance coverage.
An Isuzu Crosswind 2010 model with license plate NQS 664 registered to Caritas Nueva Segovia in Vigan, Ilocos Sur also has no insurance coverage.
A Mitsubishi L300 2011 model with license plate AEY 772 registered to the Apostolic Vicar of Bontoc Lagawe in Mountain Province has no insurance coverage.
The fourth vehicle is a 1997 Nissan Pathfinder with license plate BCE 579 registered to Fr. Rotillo Mamuag of Centro Alcala in Cagayan.
Araullo said that the PCSO could not just include the returned vehicles as its acquired assets because the vehicles are registered in the name of the bishops and the parishes.
An official of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines-National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace (CBCP-Nassa) said it would be better for the bishops to ride a bicycle rather than receive vehicles donated by Ang Galing Pinoy party-list group Rep. Juan Miguel 'Mikey' Arroyo.
CBCP-Nassa executive secretary Fr. Edu Gariguez said that while he was pleased to hear that lay Catholics are extending a hand to help the Catholic Church, he was against the means by which it was being conducted and was troubled upon hearing that Mikey Arroyo was one of the contributors.
"The initiative is good and I am pleased to hear that the laity are volunteering just to help the Catholic Church. But I became concerned when I heard that the
money came from 42-year-old Mikey Arroyo. If you will ask me, it would be better if I would ride a bicycle," said Gariguez.
He said that if the seven bishops returned the vehicles to the PCSO where the source of funds came from gambling, "then why should they accept from the Arroyos, that would be worse and this should not happen. This is more embarrassing for the Catholic Church that there would be money coming from the Arroyos. This is why in this early stage, we are already saying that we are against it."
Fr. Robert Reyes said that instead of accepting donation from Arroyo, the bishops should look for other sources to meet their financial needs.
"If the Catholic Church wants to have a fund raising they should do it quietly," he said.
Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano urged the administration to institute reforms at the PCSO to avoid the possible misuse of its discretionary funds in the future.
He pointed out that a possible remedy to the issue of corruption in PCSO would be to turn over the disbursement of the funds it generates to other agencies such as the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).
Cayetano also suggested that the regional development councils be the ones to submit reports on the needs of different municipalities rather than having politicians and other influential individuals request these items from PCSO as is the practice now.
"We should take out political discretion and put more planning and systems into it. There are two ways of taking out the discretion. One, put in a procurement plan based on appropriate information from the grassroots. Two, transfer the distribution of funds away from PCSO," he said.
He said that there should be a comprehensive review of the use of intelligence funds in agencies like PCSO. With Evelyn Macairan, Christina Mendez
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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