Palace backs PCSO ‘housecleaning’

Malacañang believes the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has a good case against those who were in charge of the PCSO under the Arroyo administration following its discovery of irregularities committed under their watch.

“It is a recognition of the anomalies found in the PCSO, and we believe that the PCSO has the evidence to warrant such a finding of irregularities during the past PCSO administration,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said on Tuesday when asked whether the Palace was backing Juico’s findings on the state of PCSO finances after a yearlong “housecleaning.”

Juico has said that the PCSO board of the Arroyo administration had used charity funds to enter into contracts with favored media groups and to issue guarantees to hospitals that resulted in a P4-billion deficit by July 2010.

Charity funds diverted

Juico intends to submit her findings that showed how funds meant for charity were diverted in the form of endowments to favored politicians and commissions to media personalities, in a plunder charge against Arroyo, now a Pampanga representative, to the truth commission.

At a press briefing, Lacierda said Juico, who met with President Aquino last week, had informed him about the PCSO’s filing of cases against Manuel Garcia whom Juico identified as “one of those involved in the anomalies.”

Garcia, who served as PR manager in the PCSO for the last 12 years until he was fired in March, was behind the ad placement racket in the agency, according to Juico.

Juico said there were PCSO checks issued to media block-timers that found their way into Garcia’s bank accounts.

Asked to comment on the charge that Juico had included in the deficit liabilities carried from other previous administrations, Lacierda said: “If there are (pieces of) evidence, the PCSO will prepare and file the cases.”

It was former PCSO chair Manuel Morato, who had served as a member of the PCSO board during Arroyo’s administration, who leveled the charge against Juico.