P600-M anomaly at PCSO bared

A director of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office accused PCSO Chairman Honey Girl de Leon yesterday of railroading a P600-million contract for the printing of instant sweepstakes tickets.

Malacañang, however, twitted PCSO Director Jose "Linggoy" Alcuaz’s expose on the alleged anomalies at PCSO as "tainted with personal vested interest."

Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said Alcuaz could be aspiring for the post of PCSO general manager.

PCSO assistant general manager for corporate affairs Israel Estrella said De Leon will answer the allegations when she arrives from the Ilocos Region.

"The chairwoman is indisposed but she will answer point by point the allegations," Estrella told The STAR.

Alcuaz said De Leon and some members of the board called a meeting last Dec. 23 at the Mandarin Hotel in Makati City without notifying him. He alleged that they passed a resolution approving a P600 million contract with a favored supplier of sweepstakes tickets without public bidding.

Alcuaz, who recently launched the Question Mark movement — a departure from his exclamation point protest during the Estrada administration — said he was willing to prove his allegations and volunteered to become a state witness.

"The contract was already disapproved by the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel, yet the board approved it," Alcuaz told reporters at his residence in New Manila, Quezon City.

He also accused De Leon and former PCSO general manager Virgilio Angelo of mismanagement, resulting in the alleged failure of the agency to perform its charity mandate.

Alcuaz said while the PCSO is earning huge revenues from the online lotto operations, millions of its funds for charity failed to reach its intended beneficiaries because of red tape in the agency.

While the law provides that the government must act within 15 days on requests for assistance from indigent patients, Alcuaz said it takes a long time before financial assistance is extended to the patient.

He also accused De Leon of delaying the implementation of the P600-million ambulance purchase program, and the disbursement of P282 million for the Ospital ni Erap program and another P282 million in hospital equipment meant for the Philippine National Police.

A memorandum of agreement was already signed for the ambulance purchase project, but until now PCSO management has not acted on it, according to Alcuaz.

He claimed the delay in the implementation of the project is intended to overprice the units and to discourage local bidders from joining the bidding.

The PCSO, Alcuaz alleged, intends to buy imported ambulances even though these vehicles are available in the local market. He added that the importation of these ambulances runs contrary to President Arroyo’s program of job generation and increased tax revenues.

Alcuaz also claimed that PCSO is generating a lot of money because of online lotto games, but the cash is allegedly kept in bank deposits.

While the government’s budget deficit has risen, "the PCSO is swimming in cash in bank deposits," he said.

Alcuaz also lashed out at Tiglao for trying to prevent him from exposing the alleged anomalies because he is a government official.

"Tiglao has been making more enemies for President Arroyo," he said.

Tiglao, on the other hand, said it is up to De Leon to rebut Alcuaz’s allegations.

He surmised why Alcuaz resorted to exposing the alleged anomalies to media.

Tiglao said that before Christmas last year, he had a talk with Alcuaz — whom he called his "friend" — which lasted more than two hours. Alcuaz supposedly sought Tiglao’s intercession to relay to the President his desire "to become GM (general manager)" of the PCSO, with the vacancy left by Angelo.

Alcuaz said if the GM post could not be given to him, his wife Baby Alcuaz should instead be appointed to any government post, Tiglao claimed.

"He (Alcuaz) said if he cannot be GM, he can help instead in the media from the outside or that his wife be put there (PCSO), that financially he cannot afford to leave the PCSO," Tiglao told Palace reporters.

Tiglao admitted that "I could not lobby for him (Alcuaz)."

He explained that it is the Palace search committee, headed by Chief Presidential Counsel Avelino Cruz, which is the recommendatory body for such vacancies as the post of PCSO general manager.

Nonetheless, Tiglao said, he relayed the message to the President.

"She (the President) has no comment on that because the PCSO board has to make the decision on this. She has to get the input of the PCSO. She prefers the recommendation of the PCSO board," he said.

Although Alcuaz is "the least of the President’s priorities" for now, Tiglao said it is up to Mrs. Arroyo to decide what to do with Alcuaz’s tenure in the PCSO board of directors. — With Marichu Villanueva