PCSO wants public apology from Lacson over Pidal row

Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) head Ma. Livia de Leon called on opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson yesterday to issue a public apology for "maliciously implicating" the agency in the controversy surrounding the Jose Pidal bank accounts.

"I appeal to Senator Lacson’s sense of propriety to rectify (the) damage incurred by the PCSO because of his accusations," De Leon said at the Ciudad Fernandina forum in Greenhills, San Juan.

She rebutted Lacson’s claims that the PCSO deposited checks for P1.35 million in the Jose Pidal account.

Lacson earlier accused First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo of laundering money through bank accounts under the spurious name Jose Pidal.

The senator claimed a check issued by the Land Bank of the Philippines was deposited in the controversial bank account.

De Leon said the LandBank check, with serial number 061283, was issued to a five-digit lotto winner on Feb. 26, 2001.

She said the check was not for P1.35 million as claimed but only for P23,000. "And the numbers of the check issued by the LandBank never repeat itself," she added.

De Leon claimed the PCSO even asked for a certification from the LandBank that only a single check bearing the said number was issued.

During the forum, De Leon showed to reporters the check itself which she claimed, was already with the Commission on Audit (COA) for post-auditing after it was encashed by the lotto winner.

De Leon also showed another check with the same serial number issued by the Philippine National Bank (PNB) with the amount of P23,000 for a certain Leonora Binedos for medical assistance.

"He (Lacson) could have been given inaccurate and fabricated information. The document he has is in all likelihood a spurious document," De Leon said.

De Leon said the PCSO was prompted to break the policy of keeping secret the names of lotto winners because of the accusations made by Lacson that the agency is being used in money laundering.

Following Lacson’s accusations, De Leon said the patronage in the lottery was affected. She said the agency received numerous phone calls while a lotto winner even refused to encash the check at the LandBank.

"We are outraged because, in linking the PCSO to the supposed Jose Pidal money laundering scandal, Lacson has deliberately and willfully besmirched the reputation of the only government agency that is mandated to extend financial and social assistance to the poor and the needy in this country," De Leon said.

A group of lawyers claimed Lacson is virtually "on a rampage."

Lawyer Rick Abcede, national chairman and spokesman for Filipino Lawyers for Good Governance (Filgood), said Lacson is "at war where he does not even follow basic rules of engagement, as long as he eliminates his enemies."

"Lacson ignores the basic forms of decency and fair play, targeting close associates of Mr. Arroyo and officials of the President, government institutions, the judiciary and most everything else even remotely connected with the First Couple," Abcede said.

In a statement, Abcede claimed many of Lacson’s accusations "suffer from incredulity."

Abcede said Lacson should bring his accusations in court backed up by solid evidence.

"This way, our officials can concentrate on the basic problems affecting the nation while the cases are being heard by the courts whose job is to hear and decide on such cases," he said.

Other groups, however, took to the streets yesterday by staging a motorcade around the eight depository banks identified with the Jose Pidal account in Makati City.

Led by Council on Philippine Affairs (COPA), Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and Plunder Watch, the groups staged a 30-vehicle motorcade demanding the banks should make a public disclosure of the accounts.

Bayan secretary general Teodoro Casiño said the bank accounts should be disclosed because they are a matter of public interest.

The groups also claimed that Ignacio Arroyo, the First Gentleman’s younger brother who admitted to being Jose Pidal, only dragged the First Couple into the controversy.

"Iggy’s (Ignacio) claim that he is Jose Pidal only confirms that millions of pesos of questionable origin are going the way of the Arroyos. He is mistaken if he thinks he would be able to exonerate the President and the First Gentleman," Casiño said. - With Pia Lee-Brago