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Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Pampanga archbishop hails Panlilio's courage, honesty
By Raymond C. Garcia
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Pampanga Archbishop Paciano B. Aniceto Tuesday commended the honesty and courage of Governor Eddie Panlilio for telling the truth when he said he received a bag stuffed with P500,000 from Malacañang.
"Fr. Ed did the right thing. He looked at it in a positive point of view by not condemning anyone," Aniceto said.
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The Archbishop also said it was a clear manifestation by the governor in upholding one of his priestly values when he said that he will be using the money for the common good.
Earlier, Panlilio clarified that the P500,000 given by Malacañang was not "bribe money."
He said this during a press conference Monday at the Capitol, where he showed mediamen the paper bag containing the money as well as the bundles of cash.
"I did not think it was bribe money, otherwise I would not have accepted it," Panlilio told reporters during the same press conference.
The governor, however, clarified that he received the money in good faith and considered it to have come from public funds as it was given by Malacañang.
Malacañang allegedly distributed cash gifts ranging from P200,000 to P500,000 to congressmen and local officials during a meeting last week called by the President.
Three lawmakers -- Representatives Teodoro “Teddy” Casiño (Bayan Muna), Luzviminda “Luz” Ilagan (Gabriela), and Crispin Beltran (Anakpawis) -- however said the incident was allegedly aimed at influencing the outcome of the impeachment complaint in favor of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
But Panlilio said if the money came from legal sources, then he will use it for public purposes such as the much-needed medicines for district hospitals in Pampanga.
Panlilio reiterated that his office would be requesting Malacañang for the necessary paperwork and the origin of the funds before they would proceed to using the money for community projects.
Meanwhile, Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. said if Panlilio wants to return the cash gift, then “he should just do it.”
Andaya though admitted that he doesn’t know where it should be returned or who should accept it. “It’s not my job to accept those things,” he said.
Andaya said the money did not come from his department because it does not give out actual cash, only a Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) and a Notice of Cash Allocation (NCA), which states that a certain amount is made available in a certain bank to fund certain projects or programs.
He also doubted whether the alleged bribe could have come from the President’s discretionary funds, which he claimed, are not enough to cover the P500,000 cash gifts for each of the 48 local government officials and 190 congressmen.
Archbishop Aniceto however believes that the money allegedly given to the public officials during the meeting came from public funds and must be used for the common good of the people.
He said: "Perhaps there is something wrong with the procedure. Since there was a meeting, they should have announced publicly that there will be a distribution of public funds."
Aniceto also appeals to all political leaders in the province to close ranks and open channels of communication.
"When there is lack of collaboration and solidarity, the people suffer from non-implementation of much needed projects," he said. (Sun.Star Pampanga/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Bacolod. (October 17, 2007 issue)
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