MANILA, Philippines — The appointment of former jueteng whistle-blower Sandra Cam as a board member of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has triggered infighting between her and some officials of the agency.
PCSO general manager Alexander Balutan called Cam a “loose cannon” after the latter made public statements criticizing the current leadership of the agency.
“Ms. Sandra Cam is now creating havoc at PCSO,” Balutan said, warning her not to destroy the agency through unfounded allegations.
“I do not want to go down to her level. She is a loose cannon. She is destroying PCSO under the Office of the President to which she now belongs, that we have been painstakingly building its credibility since day one last year,” he added.
Following her appointment, Cam vowed to clean PCSO of corruption, criticizing various activities such as the lavish Christmas party that cost the agency some P6 million.
Balutan decried the statements made by Cam, stressing that the employees deserved the party after a year of hard work.
“PCSO’s growth is at a historic high today under the new leadership,” Balutan said.
“We might be hitting up to P51 billion or it could be more this year as compared to only more than P37 billion in 2016. It’s all because we intensified our President’s battle against illegal numbers game,” he added.
Balutan said they are open to any investigation and disputed Cam’s allegations of corruption in PCSO.
“If she thinks and has evidence to show that we’re corrupt then file a case in court,” he said.
“She is now a member of the board and she should act like one. Be professional,” added the PCSO official.
Incensed over the “lavish” Christmas party recently held by the PCSO, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian yesterday urged the top officials of the agency to resign for the sake of the Filipino people.
Gatchalian said that the resignation of the executives of the PCSO would be “the most decent Christmas gifts they can give the Filipino people.”
Gatchalian cited PCSO chairman Jose Jorge Corpuz and general manager Balutan who were accused by board member Cam as the officials who were responsible for holding the P6-million party.
It was reported that the PCSO held a Christmas party for its employees at the EDSA Shangri-La, a five-star luxury hotel, which cost the charity agency P6 million, half of which went to performance and raffle prizes.
“No amount of words can justify the P6-million extravagant Christmas party unfairly paid by the hard-earned taxes of the Filipino people,” Gatchalian said.
“Allegedly, there were 1,580 employees who were invited to the said party. That’s an equivalent to P3,797 per person, which dwarfs any high-end weddings or parties by most standards,” he added.
A former mayor of Valenzuela City, Gatchalian recalled how the city government held simple Christmas parties with packed meals and small gifts, which he said were greatly appreciated by the employees.
Sen. Loren Legarda, the chair of the Senate committee on finance, said that in principle, she is against spending too much for parties.
Legarda said she does not approve of holding parties at hotels when there are venues such as the gymnasiums of local government units or auditoriums of state universities and colleges which could be used at significantly lower costs or even for free. – With Marvin Sy