PCSO regrets list of lawmakers ‘on the take’

The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) on Friday said it regretted the “unfortunate” publication of names of some lawmakers who did not receive the 2.5-percent allocation from Small Town Lottery (STL) sales.

It also insisted that the list did not come from the agency.

Several representatives whose names were on list of recipients of STL largesse earlier denied having received any money and demanded a public apology from PCSO officials.

In all, 54 congressmen were named in a newspaper report (not the Philippine Daily Inquirer) as having received 2.5 percent from the proceeds of the STL in their districts.

Some of the lawmakers called their inclusion on the list malicious and welcomed the call for an investigation made by House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.

“The PCSO fully understands the deep hurt the mistaken publication may have caused those who did not receive or who refused to accept their share from the STL sales,” the PCSO Board said in a statement. “Naiintindihan namin na magalit sila … may karapatan sila [We can well understand that they would be furious … they would be right in being so].”

PCSO said that its outreach program needed the support of congressmen, “since they have a better feel of their poor constituents who often come to them for medical and financial assistance.”

It added, “After all, they are indispensable partners of PCSO in making health and other related services more accessible to those who need them most, particularly at the grassroots level.”

The provinces and/or districts which host STL are, by law, entitled to a share in the lottery’s gross sales. In these areas, congressmen are allotted 2.5 percent of the sales proceeds of STL for the needs of their destitute constituents.

Even so, there were some congressmen who did not take their shares even if they had STL in their provinces, the board said.

The PCSO said it was now working to further improve the STL.