THE Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said Thursday the Church did not pay for the 120,000-peso bail of a suspended Catholic priest who was freed after coming up with the money.
Monsignor Arnel Lagarejos of the Diocese of Antipolo was accused of human trafficking after he was caught taking a 13-year-old girl to a motel but was freed after he posted bail, police said Wednesday.
Police said Lagarejos, 55, was accused of attempting to have sex with the teenager whom he met through a pimp, who was also a minor.
They said Lagarejos had already met the girl twice and had sex with her once.
Archbishop-emeritus Oscar V. Cruz, head of the Church’s clergy dispensation office, said any priest accused of any criminal offense must pay for their own legal costs.
“The Church has not and will not pay the bail for Monsignor Arnel Lagarejos of the Diocese of Antipolo,” Cruz said.
“Not even one centavo,” said Cruz, the Church’s lead investigator in Lagarejos’ case.
He said Lagarejos’ family came up with the money for his bail.
“He is now in a private house resting because he feels exhausted,” Cruz said.
