Last month, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte closed down the Philippine Charity Sweepstake Office, citing “massive corruption” in the organization, which administers the national lottery. The presidential palace later said the president’s order came after a “grand conspiracy” was uncovered to “cheat the government of its rightful shares.”
“The chief executive will identify the culprits in due time and the full force of the law will come crushing down on them,” according to a statement from Malacañang.
Now PCSO board member Sandra Cam is speaking openly about the upheaval, and says she was Duterte’s confidential source inside the PCSO.
“This is about massive corruption inside the PCSO involving retired generals that were being assigned there or appointed there,” she said. Specifically, she called out two retired generals, Alexander Balutan and Jose Corpuz and current chairman, Anselmo Simeon Patrol Pinili, a Duterte appointee.
Cam alleges that when the PCSO started franchising small-town lotteries (STLs), they had 18 regulatory compliant partners, but as the generals took charge, that number grew to more than 40, with corruption increasing as well. While the PCSO would expect to receive more than PHP 6 billion ($120 million) per month from these operations, it was receiving less than PHP 1 billion.
Cam said she started investigating the STL partner for Pangasinan Province, Speedgame, and found it was remitting no revenues to the government as required. Cam said her investigation was blocked by other board members, including the generals.
Cam says some STLs were in compliance and should have been permitted to stay open. “What I am fighting for is the charity fund for the poorest among the poor,” she said.
She added that she expects the situation to be resolved eventually, with STLs reopening after the corruption is exposed and rooted out.
“Please bear with our president,” she said. “We need to clean first.”
Late last month, Duterte ordered the closure of all PCSO gaming activities, including lottery due to concerns about corruption in the sector. More than 30,000 outlets were shut down on the weekend. The ban on lotto was lifted the following Wednesday, but the investigation continues, including a “lifestyle” check on all PCSO board members and former PCSO general manager Alexander Balutan.
“We will investigate everyone who holds money, held money, especially the board of directors from the time President Duterte assumed office,” said Greco Belgica, commissioner of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission.
