Church didn’t pay for arrested priest’s bail—archbishop

Retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz . INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz said the Church did not pay for the bail of a Taytay priest who was arrested for “booking” a 13-year-old girl for sex.

“Not even one centavo,” Cruz said in a statement posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website Wednesday.

This is following the release of suspended Catholic priest Monsignor Arnel Lagarejos of the Diocese of Antipolo after posting bail worth P120,000 on Tuesday.

READ: Priest in trafficking of minor case posts bail

Lagarejos, parish priest of St. John the Baptist in Taytay, Rizal, was accused of violating the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act for bringing a minor in a motel in Marikina City on July 28.

“Priests accused of any criminal offence are responsible for their own legal costs,” said Cruz, the Church’s lead investigator in Lagarejos’ case.

READ: Archbishop heads probe of priest caught with minor

Cruz added that the money came from the Lagarejos’ family.

“He is now in a private house resting because he feels exhausted,” Cruz said.

The archbishop, however, said that a scenario that Lagarejos would try to escape and leave the country is “far-fetched.”

“Humanly speaking that is what I know. He is not in a physical condition to do so,” he said. “I take the word of my right person there that he is not feeling well.” IDL