P325M used in 2 years to push STL
By Cathy C. Yamsuan, TJ Burgonio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
1:26 am | Friday, July 8th, 2011
APPROVED Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile (right) shows annoyance during the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on alleged financial shenanigans at the PCSO. At left is Sen. Teofisto Guingona III. Projected on the screen in the background is the signature of approval by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on a PCSO document. LYN RILLON
Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, now Pampanga representative, may face charges of plunder over allegations that she had approved the allocation of hundreds of millions of pesos in charity funds for possibly nonexistent projects.
The smoking gun: board memoranda of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) requesting additional funds for intelligence operations that she approved from 2008 to 2010.
Former PCSO General Manager Rosario Uriarte on Thursday confirmed before the Senate blue ribbon committee that Arroyo had signed or initialed the memos in her presence.
The PCSO spent P325 million in confidential intelligence funds from 2008 to 2010, according to Uriarte.In her testimony, Uriarte said the charity agency disbursed the P138 million to stamp out the illegal numbers games in preparation for the “roll-out” of the small-town lottery (STL).
And y’all thought I was joking about corruption in the Philippines, a supposed third-world country. So when you see and hear how Filipinos in America mysteriously become wealthy, they may well be cronies to these politicians.
Perhaps, Obama and pals could look into this area of “spreading the wealth” to other countries at the expense of American taxpayers. Maybe, America’s “debt” wouldn’t be so high after all.
Remember, too, the Philippines is surround by other Asian and Islander countries.
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