Three former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) executives who served during the Arroyo administration have been charged with corruption for accepting a free trip to Australia from the contractor of a scuttled lottery paper supply deal.
The Office of the Ombudsman filed the charges on March 3 in the Sandiganbayan, accusing former general manager and vice chair Rosario Uriarte, and former board members Jose Taruc V and Fatima Valdez of violating Section 3(b) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and Section 7(d) of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
The three officials “received a gift in the form of an all-expense paid trip” to Australia in February 2010 from Australian paper manufacturer TMA Group of Companies, according to the charge sheets.
Joint venture deal
The gift was “in consideration of their intervention as officers of PCSO in the approval of a joint venture agreement” between PCSO and TMA to establish a thermal coating and printing plant in the Philippines, the indictment said.
Section 3(b) of the antigraft law prohibits officials from accepting gifts in connection with any government transaction, while Section 7(d) of the Code of Conduct bans solicitation or acceptance of gifts.
The 25-year joint venture agreement in December 2009 was suspended by the PCSO at the start of the Aquino administration, and later canceled for allegedly being disadvantageous to the government.
Uriarte, Taruc and Valdez were former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s coaccused in a plunder case arising from the alleged misuse of P366 million in PCSO intelligence funds.
In April 2015, the Sandiganbayan dismissed the plunder case against Taruc for lack of evidence but it upheld the charge against Arroyo.
The former President appealed the antigraft court’s decision in the Supreme Court. In July last year, the high court overturned the Sandiganbayan ruling and set her free from hospital detention.
After four years abroad, Valdez, who has heart ailments, returned to the country in October last year. Uriarte, who is suffering from tumors and had also lived four years abroad, returned the following month. Both still face plunder charges involving intelligence funds of the PCSO.