Now it’s 15 PCSO execs facing P837-M graft raps

BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- Our neighborhood perennially drunk philosopher who turned sober due to liquor restrictions this time of Covid-19 cannot stop fuming where the money of this Banana Republic is going.

He says after the PhilHealth mess wherein top officials of the government agency were accused of absconding billions of pesos in taxpayers money, here comes another bigtime anomaly – this time involving top officials of the Philippine Charity Sweeptakes Office (PCSO).   

He says he read an article of a major broadsheet the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has filed charges of graft and gross misconduct against 15 former and incumbent PCSO officials.

The case stemmed from alleged anomalies in the printing cost fund of the PCSO’s Small Town Lottery (STL) program involving more than P837 million for 2017 and 2018.

The article: “Those charged before the Office of the Ombudsman were the late former PCSO board chairman Jose Jorge Corpuz, former general manager Alexander Balutan and board members Remeliza Gabuyo, Lauro Patiag, Anna Liza Inciong, Mercedetas Hinayon, Arnel Casas, Andy Gauran and Edwin Mackay.

“The NBI also recommended Gabuyo’s prosecution for obstruction of justice and serious dishonesty over her alleged attempt to cover up the anomaly by failing to provide a copy of the relevant PCSO board resolution on the Print Cost Fund (PCF) to investigators.

In a 19-page letter dated July 7 to Ombudsman Samuel Martires, the NBI said former and incumbent PCSO officials were involved in making revisions to the STL implementing rules and regulations (IRR) in 2016 that were highly disadvantageous to the PCSO, especially on the PCF.

The NBI said PCSO officials awarded .5 percent of the two percent STL gross receipts allocated for the PCSO’s PCF to STL operators or authorized agent corporations (AAC) after allowing them to undertake the printing of STL tickets.

The STL IRR 2016, which amended STL IRR 2014, mainly provided for the nationwide expansion of the STL to all the provinces and highly urbanized cities in the country.

“Aside from allowing the AAC’s unbridled discretion to print their own STL tickets, the officials awarded the excess of the two percent printing cost or the 1.5 percent that was made part of the PCSO’s operating fund, instead of declaring the same as savings to be reverted to the charity fund,” the NBI said.

“This act of PCSO indirectly increased the percentage of operating funds as provided by law, by adding the excess of the printing fund to finance its operating expenses. To be more specific, the 1.5 percent PCF was used by the PCSO to support its maintenance and operating expenses for 2017 and 2018,” the NBI said.

The bureau said the PCSO could not have incurred printing expenses, as printing was unlawfully delegated to the STL operators, “which was a violation Section 2(d) of Batas Pambansa 42,” a law amending the PCSO charter, the NBI added.

It was learned that the PCSO had a printing cost fund of P129,246,096.40 in 2016; P314.8 million in 2017 and P522,250,777.67 in 2018.

By awarding .5 percent of the printing fund, the PCSO gave a total of P69,303,997.70 in 2017 and P130,562,696.73 in 2018 to STL operators.

“In this particular case, how could the PCSO fix the number of the tickets to be distributed to AACs when it allowed them to print their own ticket? In a situation where the .5 percent printing cost retained by the AAC is not sufficient to cover the printing cost, who would cover the excess? What if the .5 percent is more than sufficient to cover the cost of printing, what would be the rule regarding the excess?” the NBI pointed out.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevara ordered the probe after President Duterte ordered the PCSO to stop all its gaming operations including Lotto, STL, Keno, ScratchIt Sweepstakes and Peryahan ng Bayan games due to “massive corruption” in July 2019.

Duterte had fired Balutan, a retired Marine general, due to alleged “corruption.”

Malacañang later issued a clarification that Balutan had resigned from his post, and was not fired by the President.

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As if anomalies were not enough, here comes Sen. Imee Marcos saying some funds under Bayanihan 2 were slashed

Some of the funds intended to assist sectors struggling because of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic have been slashed to smaller amounts under the proposed Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or the Bayanihan 2 bill, Senator Imee Marcos disclosed on Wednesday.

“Napakakuripot nitong budget na to. Hirap na hirap kami. There’s too little to fight over because it’s simply impossible to accommodate everyone’s request,” Marcos said in an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel.

Marcos is part of the bicameral conference committee currently reconciling the disagreeing provisions of the measure’s Senate and House version.

The Bayanihan 2 bill lays out the country’s Covid-19 response and recovery plan and allocates funds to help struggling sectors cope up with the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

Lawmakers agreed on P162-billion funding. However, only P140 billion will be readily available.

“It’s a very small fund, P140 billion, of which P50 billion goes directly to the banks so already there’s one-third logged off and very, very little left to give away to the tourism sector, transportation groups, of course, our health workers, which the President has promised P15,000 per head, our students, most of our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers),” Marcos went on.

“Ang haba po ng listahan. Sinabi nila na kapag maikli ang kumot, bumaluktot. Kapag wala ng kumot, mag-tumbling na po,” she added.

According to Marcos, the P15 billion initially earmarked for the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) cash-for-work program and the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) under the Senate version was cut down to P5 billion.

“Napakapayat, naghahanap pa rin kami. Lahat nagdadaing na. There are horrific projections for OFWs, hundreds of thousands are coming back jobless,” she said.

Meanwhile, the P17 billion allocated to the Department of Transportation for the provision of interest rate subsidies and the provision of temporary livelihood to displaced workers was slashed to P6 billion, the senator added.

“I understand where our finance people are coming from, they’re trying to impose prudent fiscal management, but on the other hand talagang ang hirap pagkasyahin,” Marcos said.

To provide for more funding to accommodate more sectors, the lawmaker proposed that the government divert its funds initially allocated for the travel expenses of officials to help those affected by the pandemic.

“We can get from the 2020 budget. I don’t think anyone would travel so all the travel expense…all these things, ibibigay na natin sa tao,” she said.