PCSO on ambulances: I don't see the anomaly!

I got a call yesterday morning from our dear friend, Mrs. Tessie Fernandez of Lihok Filipina, Inc. who wanted to correct what she thought was a misimpression that I wrote when I mentioned that the Patambayayong Foundation, Inc. was founded by her husband Francisco “Bimbo” Fernandez and co-founded by her. While she is also a member of the Patambayayong Foundation, she is neither a co-founder nor even a member of the board of this foundation. But she is the founder of Lihok Filipina. So call this an erratum if you will, but she concurs with the observations that I elucidated in yesterday’s column.

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 Another controversy has been exploded to the nation’s consciousness when the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) revealed that 29 congressmen got ambulances from the PSCO without paying their required 40% equity. This is after they exploded last week the story that many bishops got Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) also from the Sweepstakes Office. These reports are now occupying the front pages of our national dailies. More so that the report also showed that media outlets also benefited from the PCSO.

 First of all, let me say that it has been a practice by PCSO that when a local government unit needs an ambulance, they would have to go and get an endorsement from their congressmen. This is why we have so many ambulances running around our roads coming from the different towns from the Province of Cebu because a lot of the members of Congress here are so supportive of their LGUs. So where’s the anomaly there? Since the congressmen merely endorse the request for an ambulance, now whether or not they are supposed to pay 40% we never knew that. I’m sure not all congressmen know this, too.

 As to why the PCSO gave out money to bishops (mind you, they were not only given to Catholic Bishops, but also the officials from other faiths) to purchase vehicles, if this is not allowed by the Commission on Audit (CoA) and not allowed by the Constitution, then someone ought to answer for this. Apparently a letter that Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos of the Archdiocese of Caraga in Butuan wrote to then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo asking her for a brand new car or SUV as his birthday gift was found among the evidences found in the PCSO.

 Now whether the Bishop of Butuan committed a crime, I seriously doubt it. But whether the PCSO should be in hot water for giving money to the bishop… this is something we would soon find out. If at all, Bishop Pueblos failed in his pledge from his Holy Orders… to live a frugal life, not necessarily in poverty. Sure because many of the roads in the Caraga Region are dirt roads, an SUV may be the best vehicle for visiting his parishes… but does it have to be brand new? I believe that the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is also conducting its own investigation into this story. I hope that they would exercise some transparency for the sake of the Catholic Church.

 No doubt that they are finding a can of worms in the PCSO, but I’m willing to bet that it would shake up not only the PCSO, but also entire communities that benefited from the Sweeps office. The question that ought to be asked is, if anyone pocketed the money given by PCSO. As far as the congressmen are concerned, I don’t think that they committed an anomaly. But clearly, what’s happening here is a smear campaign by the Aquino administration to discredit the previous administration. 

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 The “Thrilla in Davao City” is still the talk of the town until today. That was last week, when Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte beat up a sheriff who was ordered by a judge to demolish structures because he defied the Mayor’s order to stop demolishing those structures. As The Philippine Star editorial last Monday entitled “Disgraceful” clearly pointed out, “The next time Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte feels so strongly for the poor she is ready to defy a judicial order ostensibly to protect them, she should beat up the judge who issued the order instead of the poor sheriff enforcing it.” I fully concur with that editorial… that Mayor Duterte should pick someone her size!

 Of course, the Mayor’s father, the former Mayor of Davao City and now Vice-Mayor Rodrigo Duterte wholeheartedly approved of what his daughter did to the poor sheriff. Of course the former Mayor approves the use of violence that characterized his years as Mayor of Davao City. But then, even mayors have limited powers and like it or not, they too must learn to respect the human rights of other people. But then, Vice-Mayor Duterte doesn’t even understand what we are talking about.

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