- In the News
- NO HOLDS BARRED
- Good Morning Philippines, June 22, 2011 Issue
I have not requested nor received any ambulance from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) for my personal or exclusive official use as a Representative of the First District of Albay.
I have no PCSO ambulance for my personal or official disposal.
The report of the PCSO which includes my name as among the 29 Members of the House of Representatives who got PCSO ambulances is completely wrong and baseless.
Neither have I emblazoned any PCSO ambulance with my image or name or used it for non-medical purposes.
Either somebody must have used my name or the PCSO has erroneous records.
I challenge the PCSO management to produce any document which evidences my having received a PCSO ambulance.
The PCSO leadership must make the necessary public rectification to correct the false report.
The revelation that some Catholic Bishops received motor vehicle and cash gifts from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has shattered the moral ascendancy of the clergy.
The varying defensive responses of the Bishops from contrived denials to deodorized admissions have aggravated their fragile position.
Moreover, while the claim that the leaders of other religious denominations who may have also received similar donations should also be exposed, the Catholic hierarchy should be reminded that solace in numbers is not a balm for guilt.
No smokescreen should be tolerated to conceal or camouflage the naked truth of moral depravity.
While the self-probe to be conducted by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is welcomed, an independent investigation should be ordered by the President so that the guilty parties could be held accountable and the innocent clerics spared.