BACOLOD CITY –– The Catholic Church in Bacolod City is warning people against hoax messages using the name of Bacolod Bishop Patricio Buzon to solicit funds on behalf of the prelate.
Fr. Roy Christian Gesulgon, the diocese’s chancellor, said Buzon recently received reports of unauthorized solicitations through Messenger, text, and Viber, instructing people to donate via a bank account supposedly connected to the Church.
Gesulgon said Buzon had not authorized anyone to solicit for, or in his behalf, or the name of the Diocese of Bacolod,
“As such, any solicitation purporting to have come from the Office of the Bishop or the Diocese, or any appeal for donations involving name-dropping of the Bishop or the Diocese is a scam,” Gesulgon said.
“Do not fall into the modus,” added Gesulgon, who urged the public to immediately report to the Chancery Office of the Diocese of Bacolod any unauthorized solicitations.
He said it is a standing policy of the Diocese that all financial transactions, including donations, involving the Diocese of Bacolod and the Office of the Bishop should be coursed through the Office of the Diocesan Oeconomus.
Donors are then issued corresponding official receipts.