PHILIPPINE Charity Sweepstakes Office General Manager Alexander Balutan expressed his disbelief Wednesday over Sandra Cam’s claims that President Rodrigo Duterte and known gambling lord Charlie “Atong” Ang know each other very well.
“Really?” Balutan said after Cam claimed during a hearing at the House of Representatives that the President and Ang “are friends”
The PCSO GM said Cam, whom Duterte appointed to the lottery agency’s board, and her gambling lord friend Ang have been dropping the name of the President and even his Special Assistant Bong Go “since they started to attack and vilify the current PCSO leadership of unfounded and baseless corruption allegations.”
Cam did so again Wednesday during the hearing of the House Committee on Games and Amusement led by Parañaque 2nd District Rep. Gus Tambunting, Balutan noted.
At the hearing, the PCSO GM reiterated that Ang and Cam came to his office on Sept. 14, 2016 and made a P200-million monthly offer as payment to operate the agency’s Small-Town Lottery nationwide.
Balutan said he rejected the offer and immediately reported this to the President.
Cam denied there was such an offer.
Cam said that during her recent trip to Bicol, Duterte admitted that he asked Ang to go to PCSO in September two years ago to help them. She said it was even Duterte’s close aide, Bong Go, who told her to accompany Ang to meet the PCSO officials.
The President visited Albay on Jan. 29 after his visit in India to check on the evacuees of the Mayon Volcano eruption and the state of the evacuation centers.
“I would like to reiterate the offer of Mr. Atong Ang. He is offering P200 million per month for the STL operation of the whole country,” Balutan revealed to the committee.
The GM said Ang went to his office sometime that September, with Cam claiming they were sent by the President.
“Sabi niya [Ang], ako ang mag-iisip ng formula pero I’m offering P200 million a month for the whole operation of STL,” said Balutan, who later brought Ang and Cam to then-PCSO chairman Jose Jorge Corpuz, who recently resigned, citing health reasons.
“’Pag isa lang po ang nag-monopolize nito, walang PMRR [Presumptive Monthly Retail Receipts], wala tayong usapan na percentage [If only one person will monopolize the STL, no PMRR, we won’t have any percentage to speak of],” said Balutan.
Immediately after the meeting, Balutan personally reported to the President and asked how he would solve the Ang problem.
“[The President] told me: Do not bend your rules. Just follow your rules, even if it involves my son,” Balutan said quoting the President.
He noted the incident with Cam and Ang have photos and CCTV footage as proof.
Meanwhile, Tarlac Rep. Noel Villanueva commended PCSO officials for the record-breaking increase in the STL revenues and for not accepting “bribe” money.
“Mr. Chair, I would like to manifest my commendation to the officers of PCSO now. Yung 14 provinces and one city that were originally given AACs [Authorized Agent Corporations]”•Tarlac from P23 million to P56 million, isn’t that how the business in Tarlac has increased? That is because of the PMRR,” said Villanueva during the hearing.
PCSO records show that the STL made history by generating P15.7-billion revenue in 2017 or P1.3 billion a month, a-143 percent increase over the previous period.
PCSO used to collect only P4.7 billion in revenue a year, Balutan noted.
Villanueva disclosed that he received information that upon the assumption of Corpuz and Balutan, they were offered a huge sum of money in exchange of disallowing PMRR.
Balutan confirmed the information, but he didn’t receive the offer.
“Never in my life your honor,” he answered.
“Kaya ganun po ang paghanga ko sa PCSO”•to Gen. Balutan and its former chairman Gen. Corpuz. They were offered millions of pesos and yet the two generals refused the tempting offer. Kaya saludo ako sa’yo, Gen. Balutan. Ituloy mo ang trabaho mo sa PCSO,” said Villanueva.