THE Senate cleared on Wednesday the seven bishops who had received sport utility vehicle (SUV) donations from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

The issue, as pointed out by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago in yesterday’s Senate hearing, stemmed from an “incorrect” report of the Commission on Audit in 2009 that the grant of P6.49 million to buy five utility vehicles, including a secondhand 10-year-old Nissan Pathfinder pickup, a Mitsubishi Strada pickup, a Toyota Grandia Hi-Ace, a Mitsubishi Montero, and an Isuzu Crosswind, for certain dioceses of the Catholic Church violated the Constitution.

“I humbly submit that the COA report is wrong, and that there was no constitutional violation.  Under the Constitution, the power of the COA is to audit government funds, not to settle questions of constitutional law.  That power is granted only to the Supreme Court. The COA should have recommended that the constitutional issue should be raised with the Department of Justice, which is the official legal adviser of the Executive branch of the government,” Santiago said, as she called for a separate investigation on who circulated the erroneous report that the bishops got costlier Pajeros.

“I think they were unfairly accused of receiving expensive vehicles which was rather incorrect. And I think the matter was clarified already,” Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said after yesterday’s blue-ribbon committee hearing on alleged dubious disbursements made by the PCSO during the previous administration.

The Senate committee called the hearings after reports surfaced that a number of Catholic bishops known to have supported then-President Gloria Arroyo received Mitsubishi Pajeros from the PCSO, which were later clarified to be 4X4 vehicles for use by the prelates in their charity work in remote upland areas in various provinces.

“We have heard the [current] head of the PCSO [Mrs. Margie Juico] who said they did not say Pajero. I do not know how true that is so I leave it at that,” Enrile said.

The Senate president, with Senate President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, Majority Leader Tito Sotto, and Sen. Panfilo Lacson sought to dissuade the bishops from returning the donated vehicles; the bishops revealed during the hearing their plans to do so to put the issue to rest.

“I personally share the same observation with Senators Sotto and Lacson for you to reconsider your decision to return the vehicles given to you by the PCSO,” Estrada told the bishops at the hearing, “because I know all of you mean well; I know you are using them for the benefit of the poor people, especially those in the depressed areas.”

Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos earlier admitted to the senators in open hearing his “lapse in judgment” in writing a letter to Mrs. Arroyo requesting an SUV as a birthday gift and got a 4X4 Mitsubishi Montero, which he is now using to reach poor constituents in remote areas of his diocese.

“I leave it to their [bishops] discretion. That is their call,” Enrile, said as he asserted that the bishops did not violate any law in receiving the vehicles for their charity work. “They violated no law. The one with responsibility in that matter, which is public treasury, is the government. That is why the Constitution forbids the use of the funds that come from taxes and various agencies of government for the benefit and support of any priest, preacher, religious minister or denominations like sectarian institutions or religious organizations.”

Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, committee chairman, said on Wednesday’s hearing resolved the issue of the bishops were concerned but that the investigation would resume on Thursday to tackle other alleged anomalies in the use of PCSO funds by former directors.

“What happened is we had a proper closure to the issue [involving the bishops]. It was also determined there were no Pajeros. The bishops were able to air their side and be heard. The PCSO apologized that there really were no Pajeros. There was closure. We were able to establish that the vehaicles were used for secular purposes...that is what’s important,” Guinggona said. “From what we saw, there was no error in the use of the vehicles because everyone said they were used for secular purposes.”

He also said there was no more need to call the bishops anew to the next hearings. But he dropped hints the blue-ribbon committee was likely recommend the issuance of clear guidelines in giving cash donations or vehicles to the religious sector.

Guingona said the committee will meet in executive session on Thursday to continue questioning former PCSO General Manager Rosario Uriarte on the diversion of the agency’s intelligence funds, the alleged multi-million-peso kickbacks in the PCSO ad placements, as well as other disbursements for purposes which the senators believed were outside the mandate of the PCSO.

Enrile also pressed for an inquiry into another multimillion-peso PCSO transaction involving the rental of lotto terminals from a Malaysian firm under questionable terms. Lacson pressed for a separate probe of reports that former PCSO officers also “funneled funds” to a nongovernmental organization (NGO) prodding Mrs. Arroyo to run in the 2004 presidential elections.

Enrile told reporters he would also ask Senate probers to verify an information he received that the former PCSO board put up a program costing between P80 million and P100 million for a so-called “Kaunlarang Pangkabuhayan Project” that was said to have been mismanaged by a religious group.

In a statement, Lacson said an NGO called “Gawin Natin-Lakas Pinoy” appeared to be very influential with the state gambling agency, getting big amounts that went to  the “Run, Gloria, Run” materials and posters that sprouted in parts of the country in late 2003.

Lacson cited a memo from Uriarte requesting for P2 million, to be charged to the PCSO charity fund, for a supposed feeding project of the Gawin Natin Lakas Pinoy. The memo had an “OK” note from then- President Arroyo, he said.