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Ousted board releases full report purporting misuse of cemetery funds
By Janela Carrera
The report includes various credit card statements, family plots worth hundreds of thousands that were waived and checks written to repay loans.
Guam - Good riddance--that's what the ousted board of the catholic cemeteries says to Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, who just fired the board and administrator last Friday.
The former board held a press conference today and simultaneously released a contentious report they believe proves Msgr. James Benavente misused cemetery funds for personal use for a number of years.
Roland San Agustin, Attorney Jacqueline Terlaje, Dennis Santo Tomas and Lillian Perez-Posadas make up the board of directors of the Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Agana, all of whom were just fired by temporary church administrator Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai.
But the four did not put up a fight to keep their positions. Instead, they said good riddance.
"This board, effectively and immediately, resigns their directorships due to the request of the delegate to turn a blind eye to the absolute misuse of funds. The board has been requested to disregard the laws and standards governing this non profit corporation and in good conscience to the church, to the truth and the laws of Guam. We decline to participate in this attempt to subvert justice for the dead and the families who've entrusted the cemeteries to utilize the funds paid for services for the cemeteries and not for any personal use," announced Terlaje.
Terlaje led the press conference today and spoke about a deliberate cover up on Benavente. Benavente was ousted in 2014 by Archbishop Anthony Apuron for misuse of cemetery funds.
However, earlier this month, Benavente was cleared of any wrongdoing, his name restored and he was given an important position in the church as the apostolic administrator of church patrimony, which essentially means he will be in charge of assessing church assets. Minutes after today's press conference, the former board released a full report detailing what they believe proves Benavente misused cemetery funds.
"The board of directors of the catholic cemeteries of Guam unanimously believes that its conduct related to the release of information on the misuse of cemetery funds is justified by the truth, and supported by documentation and records maintained with the corporation, in addition tot he review findings of Deloitte and Touche dated January 8, 2014. Because the board has revealed the truth and abided by its obligation t protect cemetery funds, the current administration of the Archdiocese of Agana has decided to silence our board by terminating directors without cause and without proper authority," stated Terlaje.
The report includes numerous credit card statements, a couple of contracts and catholic cemeteries checks signed by Benavente paid to the Agana cathedral in the thousands of dollars.
The credit card statements show that the credit card belonging to the Catholic cemeteries, was used for things like dinners, hotel stays at the Shangri-la in Makati, accommodations in Chicago and Boston, a stay at PIC worth over $1,300, medication, travel, and other charges.
Also in the report are two burial contracts, one for Benavente and another for Frank Santos. The contracts are for private family plots that are both valued at $190,000 each, but in the contract the charges appear to have been waived.
Finally, there are checks signed by Benavente payabe to the Agana Cathedral Basilica for the repayment of church loans.
"The adminsitration has requested that this board be complicit in the cover up of the use of cemetery funds for the personal use of Msgr. Benavente. In 2014, Archbishop Anthony Apuron appointed the directors of the board to manage and operate the cemetery corporation. Each director has offered their time and effort to ensure protection of the Perpetual Care Fund to be used for its intended purpose and to avoid further pillaging," concluded Terlaje.
Attorney Terlaje and the other former board members did not take any questions from the media.
About three hours after Terlaje's press conference, the Archdiocese of Agana issued another statement saying they maintain their previous position regarding Benavente "as stated several times now in recent weeks."
The full statement is below:
The Archdiocese of Agana maintains its position regarding Monsignor James Benavente as stated several times now in recent weeks. It disagrees with the former members of the board of directors of the Catholic Cemeteries of Guam, Inc. We have full confidence in our newly appointed board and interim administrator of Catholic Cemeteries. We are moving forward in this area and at all levels in our Catholic Church on Guam. It is crucial that we do so, given the challenges and tasks at hand.
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