MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino bared yesterday that the government is building up at least four cases against former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her allies, including alleged anomalies in the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).
PCSO officials revealed that lawmakers, bishops, media practitioners and other government officials in the previous administration were given vehicles and other benefits from the agency’s funds, causing it to incur billions in debt and lacking in funds that could be used for charitable purposes.
“I’m sure this will pass through the DOJ (Department of Justice). They will evaluate if there is enough basis. There were the COA (Commission on Audit) findings for instance, so there will be a formal investigation and then we will go where the evidence points us to, meaning, is there a case? Are there cases that are actionable but have already gone past the prescription period? All of that has to be determined,” Aquino said.
The President said he could not tell if Arroyo would be implicated in the alleged PCSO anomalies.
“That is a question mark, would that be the first? There are so many. There are so many simultaneously being developed,” Aquino told Malacañang reporters after meeting with the beneficiaries of the conditional cash transfer program of the government.
“The executive is actually building up several cases so which one will reach fruition is a question mark,” Aquino said.
“There are three actually on my mind right now, that case (PCSO) is the fourth,” he further said.
Aquino said he could not provide details because the investigators were still preparing the cases.
“You are preparing witnesses, you are preparing documentation, if I say it’s like this then that makes the difficulties of the investigators even harder,” Aquino said.
Asked whether Arroyo would be included among those to be charged, the President said, “Assuming that the evidence gets to that level, there are cutouts but it does represent quite a broad spectrum of personalities.”
He nodded when asked if those being built up were new cases but stressed he could not offer too many details because, “I will not make the life of investigators harder.”
Bishop shows remorse
Basilan Bishop Martin Jumaod was remorseful for accepting the donation of a vehicle from the PCSO but assured the public that the vehicle was used in humanitarian missions.
Jumaod issued the statement over local radio here as he admitted the Basilan diocese was one of the recipients of the PCSO.
He said the vehicle, a pickup truck, was utilized in transporting relief goods to remote conflict areas.
“Had we known it would reach these consequences, we would have not accepted it,” Jumoad said.
In a long distance call to Basilan, Jumoad refused to further discuss the issue but said they are leaving it to the right officials of the church to respond on the case.
Meanwhile, Catholic Church officials were divided over whether the bishops who allegedly accepted expensive cars as donations from the PCSO should attend the forthcoming Senate investigation.
Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace (CBCP-Nassa), said the bishops and the heads of dioceses that were named by the PCSO as recipients of large sums of money or sports utility vehicles (SUV) should attend the Senate public hearing.
“They should attend for transparency or even before the investigation they could already issue statements. They could present their documents that would support their statements. There would no longer be a need for an inquiry if the documents are already there,” said Pabillo.
Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes said he does not support the proposal that the bishops should attend the Senate inquiry.
“I am not in favor of that! That is overkill. For me it is not necessary. Why should (they) inquire about those things that were not pocketed by the bishops. These vehicles were not used by the bishops for their personal use, these vehicles were used to help the poor,” he said in an interview over the Church-run Radio Veritas.
Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay urged all the personalities linked to the alleged PCSO fund scam to explain their side before Congress conducts an inquiry.
“It’s better if they speak out and explain, if proven that they have committed wrongdoings then file the necessary charges,” Magsaysay said.
“Hold our tongue first until they explain their side,” she said.
The House of Representatives is set to summon past and present officials of the PCSO to shed light on alleged funding irregularities at the agency.
Magsaysay said the House committee on games and amusement, chaired by Manila Rep. Amado Bagatsing, will conduct the investigation as soon as Congress resumes session later this month. – With Helen Flores, Evelyn Macairan, Roel Pareño