House of Representatives (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

Was the e-lotto contract entered into by Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) General Manager Melquiades Robles indeed disadvantageous to the government? 

This is the question that Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers wants answered through his filing of House Resolution (HR) No.1547. 

The full title of the measure reads, "A resolution directing the House Committee on Public Accounts to conduct an investigation, in aid of legislation, on the alleged disadvantageous  contract entered into by the [PCSO] and Pacific Online Systems Corporation, and the role played by the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC)". 

Barbers, in a statement Monday, Jan. 22, said the recently implemented e-lotto has become very controversial following the Jan. 16 6/49 lotto draw wherein an alleged lone bettor getting won the P640-million jackpot. 

“It is now becoming clear that even without the approval by the OGCC, Robles proceeded with the implementation of the contract. I hope he has a valid reason for doing so despite the findings by the OGCC that such contract is disadvantageous to the government, therefore violative of the Graft and Corrupt Practices Act,” he said. 

“With this alone, Robles has put the PCSO in a bind and exposes it to lawsuits," the Mindanaoan said. 

Barbers, chairman on the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, accused the PCSO chief of "wantonly implemented the contract”. 

“The purpose of the investigation is to find out the reasons for the findings of the OGCC and the reasons why the PCSO GM disregarded such findings, to the great disadvantage of the government,” Barbers said. 

READ THIS:

https://mb.com.ph/2024/1/20/barbers-tells-pcso-chief-robles-to-resign-here-s-why

In HR No.1547, the veteran solon noted that Sections 13(3) and 13(9) of Act No. 1459, otherwise known as the “The Corporation Law", defined among others the corporate powers vested upon PCSO. 

"[RA] No. 2327 which created the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel mandates for the OGCC to 'Safeguard the legal interest of all government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), government instrumentalities with corporate powers (GICPs), government corporate entities (GCEs) as defined in [RA] No. 10149, otherwise known as the 'GOCC Governance Act of 2011', as well as their subsidiaries, and corporate offsprings, including ecozones and water districts, all collectively referred to as 'government corporations'," the measure added. 

"The OGCC having had the chance to review the proposal submitted by Pacific Online Systems Corporation in connection with its web-based application betting platform (WABP) submitted to PCSO, already took notice of several disadvantageous conditions therein," it further said.

Barbers say the memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed between the PCSO and private service provider, "by its very nature, clearly falls within the purview of 2023 Revise Guidelines and Procedures for Entering into Joint Venture Agreements between Government and Private Entities as defined in Section 5.11 thereof".