MANILA, Philippines  (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is known for dipping its finger in civil and political issues — from President Duterte’s war on drugs to the proliferation of fake news on social media.  It usually comes in Pastoral letters read in churches nationwide.

The Adobo Chronicles has just learned that a new pastoral letter will be read this coming Sunday, urging Filipino Catholics to contribute generously  to the collection basket to help with the court expenses of one parish priest named Msgr. Ariel Lagarejos.

Lagarejos was arrested after an alleged attempt to sexually abuse a 13-year-old girl in Marikina City on Friday. He was arrested in a joint operation by the Marikina police and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) around 6:30 p.m. at Blue Wave Mall in Barangay Sto. Niño in Marikina.

It is alleged that  Lagarejos sought the services of the victim through a 16-year-old pimp. The victim’s mother, however, reported it to the police after she learned of the transaction.

Operatives from the Marikina police women and children protection division and DSWD set up the entrapment operation against Lagarejos.

“If possible,” the Pastoral letter reads, ” we urge the faithful to write fat checks instead of just digging in their pockets or purses for small change.  We have to come to the aid of a beleaguered man of God.  It is every Catholic person’s duty to do so.”

So this Sunday, don’t leave home without your checkbook.