Catholic schools’ financial statements open for scrutiny – bishop

Following calls to tax Catholic schools, an official of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said the financial statements of such schools may be examined for transparency.

San Jose, Nueva Ecija Bishop Roberto Mallari said Catholic schools are transparent and willing to have their financial status scrutinized for the public to know how much the schools earn.

“We have monthly financial statements, they can look at our statement and see how we struggle to give benefits to the teachers from the tuition paid,” said Mallari over Church-run Radio Veritas.

The prelate added: “It is important to know that as much as possible, we don’t want to raise the tuition because we don’t want to burden the parents.”

Mallari, chair of the Episcopal Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education, was reacting to House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez’s proposal to tax the income of Catholic schools.

The 1987 Constitution provides that charities, churches, convents, mosques, non-profit cemeteries, lands and buildings used for religious, charitable, or educational purposes are exempt from taxation.

Alvarez wants to tax the income of Catholic schools, claiming religious schools are profitable businesses.

Mallari noted that in his diocese in Nueva Ecija, there are Catholic schools helping out small mission schools in providing support and wages to the teachers in mission schools.

“It is good that they get to know more the Catholic schools and see the good that they are doing for security especially to the poor,” he said.

The bishop added: “I hope that they start to value the good that they are doing for our society.”

For Lipa archbishop emeritus Ramon Arguelles, taxing religious activities is a form of persecution and violates the separation of Church and state.

“Tax exemptions are granted to religious institutions only for religious matters. If government taxes these, it violates the separation of Church and state. (It) is a way to persecute religion,” he said.

Meanwhile, Caloocan bishop Pablo Virgilio David noted that while it’s the government’s call to review tax exemptions for Catholic schools, they should not view the Church as its adversary.

He explained that the Church simply made quality education available when the state was unable to do it adequately, and that they don’t even rely on public funds to run their schools.

“We merely augment the lack when the government cannot adequately provide it. Should they not treat us as their partners or allies rather than as adversaries?” he said.