Bishops should decide what to do with SUVs–Palace exec

MANILA, Philippines – It’s up to the bishops concerned whether to return sports utility vehicles (SUVs) donated to their dioceses by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office during the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Malacanang said on Wednesday.

“That would be up to the bishops,” President Benigno Aquino III’s spokesman Edwin Lacierda said during a news briefing.

“It’s up to their conscience what they should do. We will leave it to them to decide the best and proper thing to do in this case,” Lacierda added.

The Commission on Audit has questioned the propriety of the donations. The issue of the controversial donations to church leaders was now the subject of an inquiry by the Senate blue ribbon committee.