Senator Raffy Tulfo slammed Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) General Manager Mel Robles after learning that he allegedly closed down a lotto outlet after its owner attended a prayer rally.
This was disclosed by Evelyn Javier, National President of the Philippine On-Line Lottery Agents Association Inc. (POLAAI) during the hearing of the Senate Committee on Games and Amusement on Monday, Sept. 23.
"Yung lotto outlet ko po ay tinerminate ni GM Robles dahil po umattend ako ng prayer rally (My lotto outlet was terminated by GM Robles because I attended a prayer rally)," she said.
Tulfo asked lawyer Lauro Patiag, Assistant General Manager for Branch Operations Sector to bring up the matter to Robles since attending such rallies has nothing to do with their contract as lotto outlet owners.
According to Javier, the rally was done to pray for the reversal of the closure of 2,000 lotto outlets across the country. She added that from all those who attended the rally, only she was stripped of her lotto outlet.
After finding out about this, Tulfo proceeded to criticize Robles.
"Parang nakikita ko dito kay GM Robles parang (The way I see GM Robles it's like) he thinks he’s God. That’s grave abuse of power. Really. This guy is very dangerous. You give him little power, he exceeds that power that was given to him,” he said.
"Grabe naman. Delikado 'to, nakakatakot 'tong boss niyo na si GM Robles. Pano na kaya kung ito'y maging Presidente ng Pilipinas baka lahat tayo konting mali lang diyan, ikukulong tayo lahat. Pakisabi sir, abusado 'tong boss mo (This is dangerous, GM Robles, your boss, is terrifying. What if he becomes the President of the Philippines? We'll all be in trouble, even a small mistake and we'll all be imprisoned. Please tell him, sir, your boss is abusive)," he added.
Robles was not present during the hearing and Tulfo asked Patiag for the PCSO chief's presence in the next hearing.