MANILA, Philippines—The Bureau of Immigration has placed on its watch list two former top officials of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) amid a questionable release of multimillion-peso charity funds during their term.
In a two-page order, immigration acting associate commissioner Abdullah Mangotara said that vice chair and general manager Rosario Uriarte and former PCSO ads and promotions manager Manuel Garcia have been placed on a watch list.
The two who were PCSO officials during the Arroyo administration could not leave the country without travel clearance from the Department of Justice.
A total of P325 million in confidential intelligence funds of the PCSO were released for possibly non-existent projects from 2008 to 2010, a Senate inquiry showed.
The watchlist, according to Mangotara, will be valid for 60 days unless revoked or extended by the DoJ.