Morato accuses PCSO board of ‘doctoring’ financial report

Former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) chairman and board member Manuel "Manoling" Morato on Thursday accused the current board members of the charity fund of "doctoring" the financial report submitted to the Commission on Appointments (COA). "Dinoktor po nila ang report ng 2009... ang binigay nila na mga figures sa COA ay mali-mali (They doctored the 2009 report and the figures they gave COA were all wrong)," Morato said before the Senate blue ribbon committee ended its investigation on the alleged anomalies in the PCSO. The 2009 COA report sparked the Senate investigation into the PCSO's alleged unequal distribution of ambulances, the granting of SUVs to certain members of the Catholic Church, the anomalous disbursement of intelligence funds, and the supposed overpricing of ad placements. Morato, however, said the current board "bloated" the figures to make it appear like there were anomalies during the previous PCSO administration.

"Sa kanila na bumagsak ito, umalis na kami sa 2010. Sila nga nagtapos ng mga figures (This fell on them because we left in 2010. They finished the reports)... we didn't even have an exit conference," he said. But in an interview with reporters after the hearing, the former PCSO official could not immediately identify which figures were allegedly bloated by the current board. Incumbent PCSO board member Atty. Aleta Tolentino, however, said that it was not their fault that the previous board failed to submit their financial statements on time, leaving it to them to finish the reports. "[That's why] COA was only able to finish the audit in 2011," she said during Thursday's hearing. Morato had also earlier accused the current PCSO officials of “giving meaning" to the vehicle donations because they want to stay in power. — KBK, GMA News