Duterte: PHL losing P20 million a day due to PCSO syndicates

President Rodrigo Duterte said he appointed former uniformed men to lead the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) because the country is losing P20 million a day due to syndicates operating inside the agency.

“As you would notice, most of the positions now are occupied by the military and the police. As a matter of fact, itong Philippine Charity Sweepstakes, binaboy ‘yan ng mga sindikato pati ‘yung mga, ‘yung mga gangster dito na big time sa Pilipinas,” Duterte said in a speech delivered before scout rangers in Camp Tecson in San Miguel, Bulacan on Thursday.

Duterte claimed that the previous administration allowed such activities. “‘Yung lotto, sinakyan nila ng jueteng, pero sila rin ang humawak and they were granted that right by previous government. At ini-merge nila ng… So we were losing about 20 million a day. Kasi ang i-report nila ‘yung dalawa lang dito, ‘yan ihulog nila,” he said.

On Monday, retired police director Jose Jorge Corpuz took his oath as the PCSO chairman.

Retired Marines’ general Alexander Balutan, whom Duterte described as a “berdugo,” also did the same as the agency’s general manager.

“I had a hard time looking for guys to run it. And I could not find it in the civilian sector because I doubted their integrity and everything. So ang ginawa ko, I started to look somewhere, isa diyan si Jorge Corpuz who is a police PNP. Anong class ‘yan sa… Class ’82,” Duterte said.

“Then another one, gusto ko talagang berdugo si Alex Balutan, I assigned him doon sa Bureau of Penitentiary, pero I changed my mind because kailangan ko mas berdugo dito because itong kabila na ito, we were losing billions of pesos a year in taxes na magamit ng Pilipino,” he explained.

He also pointed out that Philippine National Police-Special Action Forces (SAF) commandos have already been manning the New Bilibid Prison.

Meanwhile, small town lottery was also discussed during the sixth Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. — VVP, GMA News