“File any corruption cases against me in court!”
This is the challenge Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office general manager Alexander Balutan gave PCSO director Sandra Cam, during the Senate hearing on the amendment of the PCSO charter held Wednesday.
Irked by corruption accusations of Cam, Balutan said, “I was in the service for 37 years, four months, survived more than 50 military operations, four ambushes and with an impeccable record, do not challenge me, I will not cower.”
Balutan, a retired major general, is a former Vice Commander of the Philippine Navy, and a multi-awarded marine before his stint as PCSO general manager.
“This is the first time somebody has accused me of corruption,” he said, adding, “If they have proof, then why don’t they file it in court.”
“I always do my job with honor, integrity, and honesty,” he added.
With the a little more than a year as general manager, Balutan, together with Jose Jorge Corpuz, (who recently resigned as PCSO chairman due to health reasons), the PCSO earned a record high collection of P52,986,520.39 in lottery games, compared to P39,564,206.76 in 2016.
Meanwhile, Senator Manny Pacquiao quoted a verse from the Bible in urging PCSO officials to refrain from accusing each other.
“If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand, Pacquiao quoted Mark 3:24-25 during the hearing of the PCSO controversy involving its top officials.
“We have to fix first the problem from the inside,” Pacquaio said.
According to the senator, once the problem is fixed it is only then that “we could serve with harmony, unity, and solidarity.”
“Sayang, ‘pag hindi magkaisa, madami pa naman tayong natutulungan dahil sa PCSO,” he said.
Pacquiao is a member of the Senate Committee on Games and Amusements chaired by Senator Panfilo Lacson.
Lacson has filed Senate Bill (SB) 1470 or the Philippine Charity Office Act of 2017 which will allow PCSO Charter to adapt to the changing system and emerging variations of lotteries and similar activities.
Under the bill, the primary mandate of the PCSO will be to raise revenues to fund health programs, medical assistance and services, and related charities of government.
The senator proposes 75 percent of the charity fund to go to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., for medical assistance to indigents, 15 percent to public hospitals and rural health care units and public health care facilities, 8 percent to the Department of Health for free medicine and medical equipment, 1 percent to the Department of Social Welfare and Development and another 1 percent to the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development.