Court asked to hold PCSO legal department in contempt

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — A militant group has called on a Mandaluyong court to hold the legal department of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) in contempt for allegedly disseminating false narratives and information on an ongoing case.

“We have taken an active interest in this case because PCSO is currently in a precarious financial situation with revenue collection hitting rock bottom during the COVID-19 pandemic and would likely continue to hemorrhage unless the call of President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for digitization is implemented,” said Leon Peralta, chair of Anti-Trapo Movement.

It was earlier reported that Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 212 Judge Rizalina Capco-Umali, during a May 19 hearing on a mandamus petition, stated that “she was about to go on leave for several weeks and told them to either wait for her return or transfer the plea to the RTC’s executive judge for resolution.”

Peralta said that upon verification it was found that Judge Capco-Umali did not utter those statements.

“The head of the PCSO legal department was present in the hearing, and will benefit from a false narrative, so the false news can only come from them,” Peralta said.

He pushed for drastic changes in the PCSO hierarchy and revenue-earning mechanisms to improve its finances.

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