Bishops chide Aquino for cash grant to rebels

CATHOLIC bishops on Tuesday renewed their call for President Benigno Aquino III to explain the cash aid his administration granted to rebels, warning that he could undermine trust in the government with the lack of transparency in the deal.

Bishop Leonardo Medroso of Tagbilaran, Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo of Cotabato, Bishop Arturo Bastes of Sorsogon, Manila Auxiliary Broderick Pabillo and Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz all voiced their concern on the propriety of giving away public funds to “enemies of the state.”

The bluntest criticism came from Cruz who said that if the President fails to provide reliable explanation on the cash aid given to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the communist hit-squad Alex Boncayao Brigade “the trustworthiness of the administration will be in danger.”

“From the start the cash aid was held in secrecy until media exposed them,” Cruz told the Manila Standard Today.

“He (President Aquino) is not credible even if he talks now,” the former Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop said.

Bishop Medroso, meanwhile, said that President Aquino has a lot to explaining to do about his decision to give the P5 million cash assistance to the MILF and P31 million to the ABB.

Medroso told the Church-run Radio Veritas that it is wrong to ask the MILF for accountability.

“The [administration] approved the cash assistance and it is obliged to explain everything to the public and not the MILF,” the bishop said. “What is their purpose of donating tax payers’ money to the rebels in the first place?”

Bagaforo is of the same opinion. “Well, the burden of explanation rests not on the MILF or the Alex Boncayao Brigade but on the Aquino administration because they gave away public funds to rebels,” he said.

“I think it is also the responsibility of the administration to exercise full transparency and accountability about the flow of public funds and government resources,” he said in an interview on Radio Veritas.

Bishop Bastes of Sorsogon urged the President to stop his propensity to donate public money to rebels.

He said money not only breeds corruption but also triggers breakouts of copycat rebels demanding public funds.

“There should be no money there. Because money corrupts. Money bridges corruption. If the rebels are asking for money, it means they are not sincere,” he said.

“The peace process can go on without money involved.”

Bishop Pabillo said the habit of giving away doles further exposes the government’s inability to provide for the well being of citizens especially those in rural areas.

Palace officials have insisted that the cash aid was above-board.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said that contrary to the apprehensions of some critics, particularly the Catholic bishops, the cash assistance was not meant to boost the ranks of the rebels against the military.

“We are saddened by what the bishops said because I think they’ve spoken out of information that is not amply provided them,” Lacierda had said. –Abe Cerojano, Manila Standard Today