House seeks probe on ‘massive corruption’ in PCSO

MANILA, Philippines — House Minority Leader Bienvenido Abante Jr. is calling for a probe into the alleged “massive corruption” inside the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) that earlier prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to order the shutdown of its gaming activities.

“The innocent should not be made to suffer because of the guilty,” said Abante, representative of the 6th District of Manila.

“Clearly, we have to get to the bottom of these charges of corruption, and it is with this goal in mind that I filed House Resolution 141 directing the House Committee on Games and Amusements to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, into the closure of all PCSO outlets due to massive corruption,” he added in a press conference.

Last July 27, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the closure of over 23,000 PCSO outlets, citing “massive corruption” in the government-owned-and-controlled agency. This was even if Duterte did not provide evidence to prove  his claim of “massive corruption” in the PCSO which has a Duterte appointee – former Cebu City police chief Royina Garma – as general manager.

On Tuesday, Duterte lifted the suspension on the PCSO’s Lotto operations.

READ: Lotto back; probe of PCSO to focus on corruption

Abante said the Minority bloc welcomes the directive allowing franchise holders and operators of Lotto outlets to immediately resume their operations but demanded that the PCSO fulfills its mandate to report to Congress annually.

Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate also questioned why the PCSO Board waived some of the earnings of Small-Time Lottery (STL) operators which were not remitted.

“Ang isa ngang question dyan, ang PCSO Board ba has the capacity o power to waive something na dapat income na ng gobyerno?… Kaya isa ‘yun sa gusto namin tutukan sa imbestigasyon… (Kung hindi) clearly, they can be liable for graft,” Zarate said.  /muf