House to conduct own probe on PCSO anomalies

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives will conduct its own inquiry into lottery irregularities hounding the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

Rep. Niña Taduran of party-list ACT-CIS told a news conference yesterday that the newly organized committee on games and amusements has been tasked to do the investigation.

“We will meet next week to decide on the officials to be invited,” she said.

Aside from the House, the Senate and the Department of Justice are launching separate investigations.

Asked why the games committee opted to have a parallel inquiry, Taduran said in Filipino, “So we will know the truth behind these allegations of irregularities and corruption and propose remedial measures, if needed.”

All three representatives of ACT-CIS, which is associated with the Tulfos, have opted to join the games and amusements panel, whose jurisdiction covers casinos and other gaming establishments.

On Wednesday night, the House designated Taduran and Jocelyn Tulfo as committee members and their colleague Eric Yap as chairman.

Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. of Damariñas City in Cavite, a committee vice chairman, said one of the questionable decisions the PCSO made was the reduction of the P10-billion annual revenue target it set for small town lottery (STL) operators.

He said the charity agency lowered the collection goal by P1.4 billion to P8.4 billion only upon the say-so of STL franchisees.

In effect, it gave away P1.4 billion a year, Barzaga said.

He added that he agreed with the Commission on Audit (COA) that PCSO should have stuck to its revenue target.

Barzaga pointed out the COA wanted the charity agency to collect the P1.4-billion-a-year shortfall from its STL operators.

He stressed the target was set based on monthly collections franchisees reported to the PCSO.

It was not an arbitrary figure and PCSO must have carefully studied the parameters for it, he said.

Barzaga said PCSO officials must sufficiently explain why they decided to lower the collection target.

The Senate earlier pressed for an inquiry into the operations of the PCSO.

Senators particularly wanted to know the franchises and contracts entered into by the gaming agency.

PCSO general manager Royina Garma revealed President Duterte was forced to suspend the operations of lotto and other games due to massive corruption.

Garma said the President lifted the suspension only on lotto last Wednesday, leaving the operations of STL and the other games on hold. She stressed the concern is the STL.

Some STL operators, however, took exception to claims that lotto is the biggest revenue collector.

“As we all know, the STL generates the biggest number of jobs within the places (of operation), not actually the lotto,” says Anthony Angangco of Speed Gaming Inc., who operates STL in Pangasinan and Isabela.

“Comparing to lotto, it (STL) is a composite fund collected by the PCSO for its nationwide charity work, especially those in critical condition who rely on the charity fund given by the PCSO,” he added.

Angangco said the problem of corruption lies not in STL operations but “some occupying juicy positions in the PCSO who dangle for their own business, not for the interest of PCSO.”

“Not to mention is how can Sandra Cam explain her wealth?” Angangco said, referring to the former whistle-blower who became an executive of PCSO.

He claimed he had first-hand information about alleged irregular transactions of some PCSO executives like Cam in the operation of other gaming schemes in Pangasinan.

Angangco stressed the President should not suspend the STL.

“The problem (of corruption) arises from the Peryahan ng Bayan (operations),” he said.

Meanwhile, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde ordered policemen to scrub off the paint they used to notify closed lotto establishments.

“I have a directive where the franchises which need help can go directly to the police,” he said.

Policemen had used spray paint in marking closed lotto outlets, particularly in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

But with the lifting of the suspension on lotto operations, some franchise holders are complaining of the method used by the police to close their establishments.

“They used a different method there (in the BARMM),” Albayalde remarked. – With Eva Visperas, Rainier Allan Ronda, Emmanuel Tupas