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.
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.
