Manila archbishop: Some priests getting jueteng money

Is the road to heaven sometimes paved with jueteng money?

Archbishop of Manila Gaudencio Rosales yesterday admitted some priests accept charity from people involved in the illegal numbers game.

"Sadly, merong ibang tumatanggap (there are some who accept)," he said.

However, Rosales believes priests who use the tainted money for their "own personal" needs are "rare."

Priests "whose values are not very priestly" have used jueteng money to help build their churches and chapels, he said.

But Rosales, who assumed his post 18 months ago, stressed he will not allow priests in Manila to receive jueteng money, no matter how good the intention.

"I have been here for 18 months already and I think the priests know my stand," he said.

Rosales had his own story to tell of a charity donation from less-than-saintly sources.

When Rosales was assigned as bishop in Malaybay, Bukidnon in the 1980s, local jueteng operators sent him checks ranging from P150,000 to P250,000 for the building of a church.

But Rosales said he "returned all the checks."

"So far, here in Manila, there have been no attempts made," he added.

Rosales proposes his fund-raising project "Pondo ng Pinoy" as an alternative to lure potential gamblers away from the vice that has been described as "the poor man’s lotto."

"Pondo ng Pinoy could generate more money than jueteng. Jueteng could generate between P3 billion and P16 billion per year. But if every Filipino would give 25 cents each, ‘Pondo’ could beat that," he said.