MANILA — Senator Panfilo Lacson on Wednesday said that the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) clearly violated procurement rules when it held a lavish Christmas party amounting to PHP10 million last December.
Lacson, in an interview with reporters after the hearing on bills meant to update the PCSO charter, said that the PCSO should immediately submit documentary requirements to the COA to find out if there were unsettled disallowances.
“Dapat mag-submit agad sila ng documentary requirements sa COA para makapag-decide ang COA kung may disallowance o dapat i-correct sa ginawa nila (They should immediately submit documentary requirements to COA so that COA could decide if there are disallowances or if there is a need for something to be corrected),” Lacson said.
Lacson, meanwhile, pointed out that there was definitely something “very wrong” with the operation of small time lottery (STL) games as a front for jueteng (illegal numbers game).
“Something is very wrong with the operation of the STL simply because gambling lords talaga ang naglo-lord (really lord) over sa mgaoperation ng STL,” he added.
Based on his estimates, Lacson said that the government could generate at least PHP4.3 billion a month if it received the revenue from STL games.
“You can just imagine the PHP4.3 billion per month na ma-generate pa, para ma-fulfill ng PCSO ang mandate nila sa charity (You can just image the PHP4.3 billion per month that could be generated so that PCSO could fulfill their mandate to charity),” Lacson said.
During the hearing, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) consultant Charlie “Atong” Ang recommended that it should be the government operating STL games.
Lacson said that Ang’s suggestion was a “good proposition.” (Azer Parrocha/PNA)
