Balutan out as PCSO general manager

President Rodrigo Duterte has fired Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) General Manager Alexander Balutan “due to serious allegations of corruption,” Palace spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Friday.

Panelo’s pronouncement came after Florante Solmerin, deputy spokesperson at the Office of PCSO General Manager, said Balutan “opted to resign” due to “personal reasons.”

“We hope that this will serve as a stern warning to all government officials and employees that there are no sacred cows in the current administration, especially when it comes to serving the Filipino people with integrity and loyalty,” Panelo said in a statement.

The Palace official said good governance and public accountability were the “twin hallmarks” of the administration.

“These are the standards that those in the government must exercise at all times and with utmost responsibility and fidelity,” he said.

“Those who fail to observe the same will inexorably suffer the harsh and punitive consequences.”

Panelo reiterated that the campaign against corruption “will be relentless and continuing until the last day of the President’s term” in 2022.

Duterte appointed Balutan as PCSO general manager in September 2016.

Balutan’s departure came a day after the PCSO said lotto sales dropped by 39.19 percent in February. The PCSO earned P1.58 billion last month compared to P2.61 billion in the same period in 2018.

PCSO Assistant General Manager Arnel Casas attributed the decline in sales to smaller jackpot prizes and higher ticket prices as a result of the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.

“One of the reasons for such low sales for the first two months in 2019 was we currently do not have high jackpot amount up for grabs and it's really mind blowing that in a span of two months, there were 16 winners that hit the jackpot for various lotto games,” said Casas.

“Another reason that contributes to low sales is the implementation of TRAIN (or Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion) law [on PCSO’s document stamp tax], which we are trying to counter with the implementation of ‘balik-taya’,” he said.

Duterte had previously defended Balutan who was accused by PCSO board member Sandra Cam of throwing a "lavish" Christmas party in 2017.

Balutan also refuted the allegations and said that only P6 million was spent, instead of the proposed P14-million budget.

A former Marine officer, Balutan came to prominence after he testified in a Senate hearing in 2005 on how allies of then-President and now Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo allegedly rigged results in Lanao del Sur to her favor in connection with the 2004 presidential election.

Balutan and retired Marine Brigadier General Francisco Gudani appeared before the legislative inquiry despite an order from Arroyo for government officials and personnel not to attend congressional inquiries without her permission. —RSJ/ LDF GMA News