House Minority Leader Representative Danilo Suarez has reminded former jueteng bagman-turned-whistleblower Sandra Cam that she should be careful in accusing anybody, especially a person whose integrity is beyond reproach.
“There was one philosopher who once said, ‘Freedom to shout/speak doesn’t necessarily mean you can shout fire at movie house on a Saturday night,’” the lawmaker from Quezon province said during a hearing on Wednesday, addressing the chairman of the House Committee on Government and Public Accountability.
“What it means is, once you accuse a person, it stays. If you accuse General Balutan that ‘You are corrupt,’ the media will pick it up. But how long will it take General Balutan to clear to the public consumption that he is not corrupt?” he added.
At the same time, Suarez urged the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office top executives to work together as a team and sort out their problems.
Suarez said that if animosities continue between the PCSO officials and Cam, he suggested that “one has to go.”
“I suggest that… mend. As what the President said, fix your problems. Work together. There’s no room for disagreement in an office that is in-charge of charity. Then if you cannot work together, then one must go, and maybe this body can come up with a recommendation in finding out who is right and who is wrong,” he said.
PCSO was in the limelight shortly after Cam was appointed member of the lottery agency’s board by President Rodrigo Duterte, after she accused her fellow directors of throwing a “lavish” Christmas party.
But the President has already dismissed Cam’s bickering.
“No less than the President [has already] cleared PCSO on this issue. His words were, ‘It’s OK for them to spend, they have helped a lot [of people].’ I think that’s the exact words of the President. Considering PCSO is under the Office of the President, no less than the head of office [the President] technically says, there’s nothing wrong with it,” explained Suarez.
"It’s nothing to me. As long as the money gets used to buy canned goods and clothing, they will be used. Food will be eaten, clothes will be worn," Duterte said in a mix of Filipino and Cebuano in a speech for the launching of the “Malasakit Program” for Visayas Monday in Cebu City.
The PCSO earned a record high collection of P52.9 billion in lottery games, compared to P39.5 billion in 2016. For the agency’s Christmas party, the Department of Budget and Management had approved a budget of P14 million, but the actual expense was only P6.4 million.
“Mr. Chairman, this is a pat on the shoulder for a job well done. Considering as highlighted in the presentation of [1,580] employees of PCSO, it commensurate to what they have spent of P6.4 million for an income of almost P53 billion. I think, Mr. Chairman, this is somewhat in order,” Suarez told the House panel.
During the hearing, Balutan stood his ground and defended the expenses as “appropriate.”
Balutan is a retired Marine major general who spent 37 years in the Philippine Marine Corps. He survived more than 50 combat encounters and four ambushes against the enemy of the state.
A member of Philippine Military Academy “Matikas” Class 1983, Balutan is one of The Outstanding Philippine Soldier Awardees in 2011. He is a recipient of two Distinguished Conduct Stars and four Gold Cross Medals for Gallantry in Action.
“This man has laid his life on the line. He’s received a lot of awards. I am not saying we should compare the accused and the accuser here, but I will repeat my opening statement, when you are working under the government office that is in charge of charity, [that] is a collegial body and you should work accordingly and cooperate with each other. It won’t work well if you don’t get along with each other,” said Suarez.