The Palace on Tuesday played down the impact of President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to halt gaming operations of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, saying the “human spirit” of the employees and lotto operators who will lose their jobs should not be underestimated.
“I’m sure those affected are not that poor. They earned a lot during those times when they were operating. I’m sure they have money to live,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said Tuesday.
“I don’t think they have nothing now. Before PCSO existed, they had the means to live. Do not underestimate the human spirit of Filipinos,” he added.
The Philippine Online Lottery Agents Association urged President Duterte on Tuesday to let lotto outlets resume operations while a proper investigation is pursued.
Nelson Santos, the head of the group, said in a television interview that the closure of PCSO gaming operations will have a serious impact on the livelihood of many Filipinos and the beneficiaries that depend on it.
He said about 120,000 workers were affected by the closure of 30,000 lotto outlets nationwide upon Duterte’s order.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines had earlier appealed to Duterte as well to consider the impact of his order on the lives of the workers.
In related developments:
• Makati City Mayor Abigail Binay said the city will not cancel or revoke the business licenses and mayor’s permits of PCSO outlets in its jurisdiction, even though they have been closed upon the President’s orders. She said there was no legal basis for doing so.
• Metro Manila police chief Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said the closure of all PCSO outlets made it easier for police to arrest people involved in the illegal numbers game or jueteng.
• Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Tuesday said he will look into reports that members of the Army’s Scout Ranger Regiment and other elite units are allegedly protecting individuals connected to illegal gambling.
Panelo said the President’s order, issued through a video message posted on social media by the Presidential Communications Operations Office Friday, was a verbal one with no paperwork from the Office of the President to accompany it.
Still, it was legal “even if it’s just a verbal order,” he said.
Weeks before the President’s stunning order, the Commission on Audit had released its 2018 audit report on the PCSO that found several irregularities involving billions of pesos, including:
• Failure to remit P8.426 billion worth of dividends to the national government from 1994 to 2016 in violation of Republic Act 7656, requiring government-owned or -controlled corporations to declare and remit at least 50 percent of their annual net earnings as cash, stock or property dividends to the national government;
• Posting of P4.6 billion Presumptive Monthly Retail Receipts or Small Town Lottery proceeds shortfall as of December 2018;
• Failure to settle P1.036 billion worth of transactions already disallowed by COA from 2016 to 2018;
• Accumulating P1.031 billion of unsettled amounts disallowed by COA from 2013 to 2015;
• Failure to transfer P684 million to the charity fund, broken down into P184 million worth of forfeited prizes in PCSO-sanctioned lottery Keno Games and P500 million unutilized operating fund in 2017; and
• The amount of unclaimed Keno prizes increasing over the last three years, reaching P45.3 million in 2016, P57.4 million in 2017, and as high as P81.5 million in 2018 for a total of P184 million; and PCSO-sanctioned Keno Game incurring a total deficit of P2.719 billion under its prize fund.
When asked of any government plan to help displaced workers, Panelo said: “There is none.”
“When there is a storm or any crisis in our lives, we are able to lift ourselves up,” he said.
He added that “sacrifices have to be made” to rid the government of corruption.
But Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said that government would provide assistance to the affected workers. Displaced workers may also seek assistance from the Social Security System, he said.
Panelo said there was no plan to abolish the PCSO and denied the closure of its gaming operations was intended to steer public attention away from the President’s veto of the security of tenure bill.
The PCSO said Tuesday it continues to provide services to the public despite the suspension of its gaming operations.
In a statement, the PCSO said it provided services to 1,300 individuals under its Individual Medical Assistance Program nationwide on Monday, 426 of which were given in its extension office in Quezon City and 186 medical and dental patients in Mandaluyong and Manila.
PCSO said it also donated P10 million to the Northern Cagayan District Hospital on Monday for the purchase of mobile X-Ray and doppler ultrasound.
More than a hundred game winners also received their prizes at the PCSO Head Office.
“PCSO remains steadfast in delivering charity services to all its clients and positively accepts the challenge given by the President for all its officials and employees to step up, as it appeals to the public to continue its valuable support to the agency,” its statement read.
General Manager Royima Garma has said the agency will appeal to President Duterte to reverse his order.
Meanwhile, a party-list congressman, Ako-Bicol Party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr., filed a resolution asking the President to order the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. to assume the funding support being given by the PCSO to the Philipine Sports Commission and the Commission on Higher Education.
The PSC and CHED are among the government agencies the PCSO is mandated by law to finance with its earnings. With PNA
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