28/05/2026
WHERE IS THE MONEY? Hagonoy Administration Grilled Over ₱160K ‘Ghost Priests’ Fiesta Scandal
HAGONOY, BULACAN — The local government here is facing a massive crisis of confidence as a major financial controversy erupts, directly implicating municipal funds and dragging the Catholic Church into a web of alleged corruption.
The brewing scandal has forced town citizens to turn their eyes to the municipal hall, demanding an immediate response from Mayor Ma. Rosario “Ate Charo” Sy-Alvarado-Mendoza
The controversy exploded after Rev. Fr. Jose Rodel Ponce, the highly respected Parish Rector of the National Shrine and Parish of St. Anne, blew the whistle on municipal vouchers. The documents allegedly claim that more than ₱160,000 in public funds was released by the local government as honoraria and stipends for priests who supposedly officiated during the town’s recent thanksgiving fiesta.
The only problem? The parish says those priests never existed, never showed up, and the church never received a single centavo.
“The Church and its patroness should never be used for personal or political interests.”
— Rev. Fr. Jose Rodel Ponce, Parish Rector (Rekto at Kura)
According to parish sources, municipal liquidation records explicitly list multiple priests as concelebrants and recipients of the taxpayer-funded stipends during the triduum and feast day Masses.
Fr. Ponce pulled no punches in his statement via the parish’s Social Communications ministry, categorically denying that the parish or the named clergy ever touched the money. Several of the priests officially listed on the government payroll were never even seen participating in the religious celebrations.
While reports indicate that these highly anomalous expenditures trace back to budget allocations under the previous local administration, the public demand for answers is landing directly on the desk of the current sitting mayor.
As the chief executive of Hagonoy, the burden of transparency stops with the Mayor. In a town where citizens are heavily taxed and public resources are scarce, the spending of over ₱160,000 on "phantom" religious services is an insult to both the taxpayers and the faithful.
The people of Hagonoy are now demanding immediate, unfiltered answers to three critical questions:
Will the Mayor name names? Who approved, signed off on, and ultimately encashed the ₱160,000 vouchers for these "ghost priests"?
Where is the independent audit? Will the municipal hall immediately open its accounting books, liquidation reports, and official receipts regarding the fiesta expenditures to the public and to the parish administration?
Will there be prosecutions? If this is a leftover anomaly from the previous administration, will the current leadership file immediate criminal and administrative charges against the personnel involved, or will political courtesy breed complicity?
The National Shrine and Parish of St. Anne has already made its move, standing firmly on the side of truth and demanding vigilance. The ball is now completely in the local government's court.
As of post time, the allegations remain unproven, and the municipal government has yet to release a definitive, official finding. But silence from the Mayor's office will only feed the growing public outrage.
Hagonoy is watching, Mayor. Whose pockets hold the ₱160,000?
