PCSO execs should resign over P6-M ’lavish’ party, says Gatchalian

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian. (Photo from the Senate Facebook account)

Officials of the Philippine Charity and Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) should just step down for holding a P6 million Christmas Party in a five-star hotel, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said on Saturday.

Gatchalian  said he saw no need for PCSO officials to defend the Christmas party budget, stressing that the allocation was “clearly excessive.”

“Kung ako sa kanila, ang pinakamagandang regalo nila sa pamilyang pilipino, mag-resign na lang sila,” Gatchalian said in an interview  over DWIZ. “Tingin ko, mas magiging maayos pa ang pagpapatakbo sa PCSO.”

(If I were them, the best gift to give Filipino families is to resign. I think then PCSO will be managed even better.)

PCSO board member Sandra Cam last Wednesday bared that the agency held a P10 million Christmas party, but PCSO general manager Alexander Balutan said it was only P6 million.

Balutan explained that the Department of Budget approved the original budget at P14 million, but he had cut it down to P6 million.

Cam had called on the Senate to investigate the “lavish” party. PCSO chair Jose Jorge Corpuz said they were ready to defend themselves before any probe.

Gatchalian, however, said otherwise.

“Hindi nila madedepensahan iyan. Kahit anong balik-baliktarin natin, mali talaga ang ginawa nila. Imoral ang ginawa nila,” Gatchalian said in the radio interview.

(They can’t defend that. No matter which way you put it, what they did was wrong. It was immoral.)

“Madaling sabihin na para sa empleyado yun, pero alam nating sumobra sila dito at imoral ang kanilang ginawa,” the senator said.

(It’s easy to say it was for the employees, but we know they went overboard and what they did was immoral.)

Gatchalian said that the PCSO officials appeared to have “no conscience” when they spent P6 million for just a Christmas party.

“The primary responsibility of the PCSO is to help the poor,” the senator said, explaining that some people have to line up for hours just to get assistance from the agency.

“Nakikita natin, itong mga tao na ito, ang iwaldas ang pera ng taumbayan, at parang walang konsensya silang gumastos ng basta basta,” he said.

(What we see is these people will spend the money of the people and they will spend without any conscience just like that.)

Asked if he would file a resolution calling for an inquiry, Gatchalian said that the PCSO officials should heed his call and just step down.

“Kung sila aakuin at magreresign (If they just take responsibility and resign), that would save us a lot of problems and trouble to investigate,” the senator said. “Alam naman natin babagsakan nito (We know where this will go).” /je