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Immigration places 2 former PCSO execs on watchlist


The Bureau of Immigration has placed two former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) officials on its watch list to prevent them from fleeing the country while the Senate looks into their alleged involvement in anomalies hounding the agency. In an interview with GMA News on Friday, Immigration spokesperson Antoinette Mangrobang said that on Thursday, the bureau made the move against former PCSO general manager Rosario Uriarte and former PCSO advertising and promotions manager Manuel Garcia following the orders of Justice Sec. Leila de Lima. Mangrobang said Uriarte and Garcia may file their appeals with the DOJ. “In case they will depart with an active watch list, they have to go to the Department of Justice and either request for its lifting or request for an Allow Departure Order," Mangrobang added. Under Department Circular No. 41 issued in May 2010, the Department of Justice can motu proprio (on its own) issue watch list orders against persons who are the subject of government inquiries. Uriarte supposedly cashed a total of P315 million in intelligence funds and other allocations from the PCSO while senators computed that Garcia might have received P1.5 billion in kickbacks from the advertising contracts he drafted from 2003 to 2010. Aside from Uriarte and Garcia, those who are the subjects of a Senate blue ribbon committee hearing are former PCSO chair Sergio Valencia, former board members Manuel Morato, Maria Fatima Valdes, Jose Taruc, and Raymundo Roquero. PCSO director Atty. Aleta Tolentino had earlier revealed that P6.9 million of the charity’s funds were allocated for the purchase of utility vehicles for certain bishops. Garcia is also facing an P18-million tax evasion complaint at the DOJ. Last Thursday, the Bureau of Internal Revenue filed the complaint against Garcia, who allegedly underdeclared the information in his Income Tax Returns to avoid the payment of the proper amount of taxes. — With Jam Sisante/JE, GMA News

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