Wednes&teJuly3I,2fil9

Haltto'PCSO games
stillgoodforbiz DOF
By BERNADETTE D. NtcoLAs t @BNi.olasBM
BurcH FERNANDEZ Y @butchlBM,
& JovtE MARrE N. DrLACRuz'
tTtHE Department of Finance (DOF) said
I
on Tuesdav that President Duterte's
I order to stispend gaming activities under
the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office
(PCSO) in a bid to stop "massive corruption"
will boost investor confidence in the country
instead of dampening it, as critics warned) '
DOF spokesman and Assistant
SecretaryAntonio Joselito G. Lam-
bino I1 argued that corruption is one
ofthe tpp concernsbyinvestors, so
addressing this will bode well for
the country. This, even as lawmak-
ers in both chambers prepared to
launch their own inquiry into the
allegations of corruption that trig-
gered the sudden suspensionofthe
games, includingthe popularLotto,
effective Saturday.
"I think a reduction in corrup-
tion is something that increases
confidence, so if you look at the
surveys, like the World Economic
Forum for instance, one ofthe top
concerns is corruption. Thatis one
of the things that investors con-
sider as a disincentive to invest in
a country. That is the case specifi-
@ioveematie
cally for the Philippines. It is one
of the top 3 concerns so I think as
corruption issues are addressed,
investor confidence will increase,"
Lambino said.
However, local economists in-
terviewed by BusrNrssMrnnon
shared a different view of the mat-
ter, addingthat the President's de-
cision to shut down PCSO's lotto
operations, among others, will
have dire consequences on inves-
torconfidence as well as the public
health programs.
Private sector economist Calixto
V. Chikiamco said the President's
decisionposes a greater risk which
is "increasedinvestmentuncertain-
ty and policy instability which will
turn offinvestors."
Following the Presidentt veibal
,?fi,
order last Friday, lawmakgrs $ave
also called for an investigation,to
assess the impact ofthis directive.
While Lambino said it is too
early to tell the imiact on this as-
pects, he is positive that the move
will produce favorable results in
the long run in terms of increasing
government revenues.
"It's abit early in the game [but]
I think the ultimate outcome of
this 4s the corruption issues are
addressed, PCSO will be able to
provide more revenue support to
our priority programs. So again,
it remains to be seen. We are as-
sessing all ofthe factors but in the
end, we will have more resources
because corruption would have
been addressed," he said.
Lambino reiterated that he
sees little impact of ttte:iCSO
games' suspension on the Univer-
sal Health Care funds, since the
agency's share in the UHC's fund
is onlv P3 billion or less than 1.2
p"r."rra of ,hu ,o,al P257 billion
required by UHC in 2020.
This is why, he said, they arti
focusing their efforts on. passing
the increasingthe taxes on alcohol
products as well as raise taxes on
heated tobacco andvaporproducts.
'Not adiversion'.
IN a related ilerieloprneirt on
SEB "PcsO,"A2

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PCSO...
CoNTINUBD FRoMAl2
separate interview
Panelo also saiditis nottrue that
the decision to shut down PCSO
gaming operations was meant to
favor Chinese-dominated Philip,
pine Offshore Gaming Operations
(Pogos), which resulted in rhe in-
flux of illegal Chinese workers in
the country and illegal gambling
like jueteng.
Senator Risa Hontiveros earlier
expressed concern that the Presi.
dent is setting double standards
as he seemed to be heavy handed
againstselectedlocallicensed gam-
bling operaL ions, such as PCSO,
while being lax toward Chinese
online gambling and jueteng.
"That is what the critics think,"
Panelo said. "They are wrong,"
Senate probe
THE Senate is poised to open a
full .blown inquiry inLo allegar ions
of anomalies at.the PCSO and the
Philippine Health Insurance Cor-
poration (PhilHealth).
Pro'administration Senator
Christopher Lawrence Go, however,
gave assurances on
Tuesdaythat the
upcoming inquiry into the health
sector mess will not hamper deliv-
ery ofpublic services by the PCSO
and Malasakit Centers.
"Tbe interest of the Filipino
people should 6e put above every-
thingelse andthose who committed
corruption should be held account-
able," said Go.
Gp, recentlynamed chairman of
the Senate Committee on Health
and Demography, affirmed in a
press statement his readiness to
spearhead an inquiry into alleged
anomalies in the PCSO and Phil-
Health.
At the same time, Go noted that
Senator Panfilo Lacson had also
disclosed Health Secretary Fran-
cisco Duque III's alleged "conflict
of interest" in some PhilHealth
transactions in a privilege speech
at Monday's,plenary session.
Signal ing his readiness to chair
the Health Committee inquiry, Go
affirmed his willingness "to set
aside friendships" as what Duterte
advised him to do, adding: "The
Presiden t told me to always do what
is right."
He, however, clarified he has
no reasons to prejudge Health
Secretary Duque. 'As chairman
of Com mittee on Healtfi, T'mwill-
ing to investigate if thgre's really
con flict of interest bu t i sti ll
Secretary Duque, until it's proven
sufficiently that he did something
wrong."
In a press stateme nt, Go also as-
sured that operation s and services
offeted by Malasakit Centers are
not affectedbythe closure cifPCSO
gaming outlers. Patients can seek
financia I assist ance from various
gol ernment agencies in Malasakit
Centers established in 3g public
hospitals all over the country.
He added that "enough funds
have been allotted or released for
the services offered by Malasakit
Centers." r
According to Go, the current
collections of PCSO will be used
v /oAq-z*- -Apr
next yea{. "Funds have been allo-
catedforthe PCSO thisyear. Money
collected this year will be used as
PCSO's budget for nextyeaL"
He clarified that while gaming
outlets have been closed, PCSO re-
mains open for medical financial
a6sistance.
The former presidential aide-
turned-senator disclosed that the
President was prompted to order
the suspension of gaming activi-
ties upon receiving reports of
cofruption from newly appointed
PCSO General Manager Royina
Garma.
"She told the President that she
needs his helpbecause she's having
a hard time stamping out corrup-
tion at the PCSO and that in the
past few months, PCSO has been
bleeding due to the operation of
some games that it has authorized,""
he said.
trust 'Unconstitutional'
CAGAYAN de Oro Rep. Rufus
Rodriguez, the chairman of the
House Committee on Constitu
tional Amendments, on Tuesday
said President Dute(te's order to
stop all gaming operations of the
PCSO is unconstitutional.
In an interviewwith CNN Phil-
ippines, Rodriguez said franchise
holders may question Du terte's
order before the courts,
"It is not accordance with a law
and it is against the Constitution,s
[tenet of] due process first before
closure," he added.
Rodriguez said the Pres ident's
order deprives franch ise holders
and operators of tl-reir right to
f
\"2/
.t
due process. I t l;
"Franchiie holders of thJnSffi
are protected by the ConstitutiBfi.;'
I
it provides that no person shall be
deprived. of life, liberty and prop
erty without due process of law.
While it is true that you were able
to cancel a franchise [however] it
cannotle done arbitrarily landJ it
has to have process with hearing
I
the other side," he added.
"If you believe that the fran-l
ch ise was secured by
corruption or
there was no remittance, therefore
there has to be a notice from thC'
other party, the franchise holder,
I
for them to be able to explain why,
whetlter their contracts are through
corruption. Then after that due
notici and hearii!, ;il;il"";; l
cancelled, but oniy then," Rodri-
guez said.
Duterte ordered the immediate
closure of al1 gaming operations of
the PCSO over the weekend. This
prompted the Philippine. National
Police to shut down more than
30,000 PCSO outlets.
Earlier, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos
Isagani Zarate described the Pre6!
dent's move as "unfairand illegal."
Also, Zarate challenged Presi-
dent Duterte to fire and file cases
against PCSO officials involved in
corrupt practices.
"If the corrupt people involved
are President Dutertet appointees
then he shouldhave sackedthese of-
ficials and overhaul the said office.
But what is happening now is that
he is punishing everybody. includ-
ingthe peoplewho relyon PCSO for
help for their medical needs," said