INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Fifteen former and incumbent officers of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) including its former chairman Jose Jorge Corpuz are facing criminal charges before the Office of the Ombudsman for alleged irregularities in their agency.
In a letter dated July 7, but was presented to the media on Tuesday, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) recommended filing a case for violation of Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and Gross Misconduct against former PCSO chairman Corpuz; former general manager Alexander Balutan; Mabel Mamba; Francisco Joaquin; Marlon Balite; Sandra Cam; and Jesus Manuel Suntay.
Also, the NBI filed a case for violation of Section 4(b) of the Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and Gross Misconduct against Remeliza Gabuyo, Atty. Lauro Patiag, Atty. Anna Liza Inciong, Merceditas Hinayon, Arnel Casas, Andy Gauran and Edwin Mackay.
The NBI, meanwhile, filed another case for obstruction of justice and serious dishonesty against Gabuyo.
In a the 20-page letter, the NBI said the accused respondents failed to seek approval from the Office of the President when it allowed the 2016 small town lottery (STL) implementing rules and regulations to take effect.
The law enforcement said this is contrary to the provision of Republic Act No. 1169 or Providing for Charity Sweepstakes Horse Races and Lotteries.
Section 10 of the law states that the Board of Directors of the Sweepstakes should promulgate rules and regulations for holding lotteries with the approval of the President of the Philippines.
The NBI also stated that the PCSO did not fix the number of tickets given to STL operators, allowing the operators to print their own tickets using 0.5% printing cost.
The PCSO also “indirectly increased the percentage of operating funds by adding the excess printing fund to finance its operating expenses,” the NBI said.
Specifically, NBI said PCSO used 1.5 percent printing cost fund in 2017 and 2018.
“The PCSO could not be said to incur printing expenses as printing was unlawfully delegated to STL Operators,” read the letter.
In addition, NBI said the PCSO used over P637 worth of printing cost funds to augment its operations which could have been made part of the charity fund.
“Due to the acts and/or omissions of the PCSO Officers and employees the funds that should have been part of the Charity Funds to be enjoyed by the echelons of the society were enjoyed only by a few PCSO employees,” read the NBI letter.
Gabuyo, meanwhile, faced obstruction of justice after she allegedly “misled the NBI” for failing to include a document that the NBI requested while investigation in the agency is ongoing.
It was in 2019 when President Rodrigo Duterte vowed that the investigation of corruption on the agency’s gaming operations will be swift.
Duterte also ordered the closure of thousands of PCSO’s gaming outlets due to the supposed anomalies in the agency.