Cam ready to ‘spill the beans’ on PCSO corruption
Credit to Author: CATHERINE S. VALENTE, TMT| Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2019 04:57:41 +0000
PHILIPPINE Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) Director Sandra Cam on Thursday is ready to “spill the beans” on the alleged corruption in the agency.
Cam’s statement on Thursday comes a day Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) Commissioner Greco Belgica asked the PCSO official to substantiate her claims.
In a statement, Cam said she would name before a Senate inquiry the people involved in the corruption in the state-run gaming firm.
“Philippine Presidential Anti Crime and Corruption (PACC) Commissioner Greco Belgica already has in his possession all the documents to prove corruption in Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office(PCSO) since May 2019,” said Cam, a PCSO board member.
These documents, she said, “were the ones that the President asked for when they met in Tokyo, Japan last May during the President’s official visit.”
“President Duterte and I met in Tokyo. He asked me for proof. I then gave him the documents that proved that there is corruption in PCSO. He then asked me to hand over these documents to Sen. (Christopher Lawrence) Bong Go and the latter gave these documents to Commissioner Belgica who is in charge in the investigation,” Cam said.
“Aside from these documents Cam admits that she still has information regarding the corruption in PCSO and she’s ready to spill the beans in a Senate or House Inquiry,” Belgica added.
During a Palace press briefing on Wednesday, Belgica said he would issue a memorandum to Cam asking her to submit evidence.
“She will be allowed to submit the evidence to us, to the President, to the Ombudsman and we will welcome that. She was the first one to call out corruption in PCSO,” Belgica said.
“We are interested to hear what she has to [say] to us, not to take it as the truth, but to investigate and allow it to go to through the process,” he added.
The PACC is currently investigating some 15 top officials of the PCSO, including 10 named by Duterte.
On July 26, Duterte ordered a stoppage in all gaming operations of the PCSO, citing “massive corruption” in the agency.
The suspension on the operation of the more popular lotto was lifted on July 30 after Malacañang found no irregularities in its operation.
Gaming schemes such as the Peryahan ng Bayan, small town lottery and Keno, however, remain suspended pending the results of an investigation into alleged corruption.