MAI{II-A" PIIILIPPINES I MONDAY 29 JULY
Shape
up 0r
privatize
j:
By Hanan€el Bordey
Members of Congress are one
'in backing President Radrigo
,. Duterte's suspension of all
Philippine Charity Sweepstakes
Office (PCSO) gambling operations
ard their resumption only after
they are either privatized or that
.. the pervasive corrupiiori in the
agency is totally removed.
Mr. Duterte banned all PCSO
betting games due to massive
coffuption in the agency.
0n Sunday, Senate President
Vicente Sotto III said the
- operatibns of the gaming outlets
can always be reopened if the
President considers the PCSO as
having been fteed of corruption.
'1 think he is shutting dor n the
ftarchises. It can alwa's open once
the co uption is meafthed
clea.nsed,' Sotto said in a staJement.
Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano
said President Roddgo D[t€rte
"will not order the closure of
PCSO if there is no substantial
corruption in the agency.'
. Cayetano made this staiement
'during a visit to Zamboanga
City, saying the President's
decision might .be forced
by ihe information from his
sources, which came either lrom
formal or informal intelligence
, investigation.
fun
, to Page
20I9
Shape up or privatize
ftomWpfi
Sources are many
'I have no tloubt that the
lat€st move of our President was
due to his infomation. Uke what
I always say, we cannot judge
the President immediately as
he has more information than
irs. He has manY sources (rnaY
it be) formal or informal. It may
be intelligence or processed
actionable intelligence;n
Cayetano explained.
"The President will not
ordbr that if corruPtion is not
substantial," the Speaker added.
"So, I hope it will be addressed
and it will come to (a) good
I have faith
conclusion. But
and that so fax, all (the matters) the
President is focused on. Give him
enough time to flx the Problem."
The lawmaker said the
President has not briefed
Congress yet on PCS0's closure.
Trust Body
"We harren't been fullY briefed
yet on what the President wanted
to say but I don't think that he
will let public service suffer,'
.he said.
C ayet an o said the
Philippine Amusement and
M decided to temPorarilY stoP
Gaming Corporation and
t'7Po6t7 PAg€
the Malasakit Centers will
continue operating.
I{e added that the President's
in line with his
decision is
strong conviction against
corruftion, emphasizing that
tuoug\ Lnvestigation, a better
assessment can be obtained on
PCSO's situation.
Last Friday evening, Mr'
Duterte ordered the suspension
and closure of all gaming
activities in all PCSo outlets
nationwide.
He said that'massive
conuption' in the agencY forced
him to stop all its operation.
Malasakit continues
Sen. Christopher Lawrence
'Bong" Go reiterated that Mr.
Duterte prevented the further
bankruptcy of PCSO due to
corruption.
lhe President will not order
that if colruption is not
substaffiol.
'I betieve that the Priority
of the President is to
PreYent
further loss for the goYernment
and protect the interest of
the people. Ile also wants to
stop co[uption that's why he
Il
(the operations) to review and
investigate ihe activities which
were approved by the PCSo,".
he said,
Go added that the Malasakit
Centers, which the governrhent
has established, will not be
affected by the closure of the
PCSO outlets.
'The PCSo was budgeted
for this year. That is why the
Malasakit C€nteIS will not be
affected,' the senator said. 'The
revenues collected bY ihe PCSO
this year will be irsed next Year.'
Direct to Treasury
Suggestions to' PriYatizd
PCSO and revenues from its
gaming activities to be directly
re$itted to the Department of
Social Welfare and DeveloPment
(DSWD) were also floated in
the Senate.
Senators pointed out that
proceeds from PCSO operations
should be remitted directlY
DSWD to fund social
to the
seryice programs to avoid the
mishandling of tunds that should
be allocated to the Poor.
PCS0 is the Prin c iP al
government agencY mandated
to raise and Provide funds for
goYernment health Programs,
medical assistance ard services.