PCSO chief Juico: No politics in SUV controversy

Philippine Charity and Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) chairperson Margarita Juico on Monday denied the various allegations against the current officials of the charity fund, including purposely blowing up the issue of the former board granting of luxury vehicles to certain prelates for political reasons. Juico said they did not intend to publicize how the PCSO's former board granted SUVs to some prelates in 2009, even if President Benigno Aquino III is at odds with the Catholic Church over the controversial Reproductive Health bill. "Hindi ito political. Ang COA ang nagtawag ng atensyon namin na merong ganun (This is not political. It was the Commission on Audit that brought this to our attention)," Juico said in an interview aired over GMA News TV's "News To Go." She issued the statement after former PCSO chair and board member Manuel “Manoling" Morato accused the current board of having an ulterior motive for making such exposés. PCSO director, lawyer Aleta Tolentino, had said that according to the COA report, P6.9 million of the charity’s funds were allocated for the purchase of utility vehicles, supposedly for the Archdiocese of Cotabato, Zamboanga, Caritas Nueva Segovia, Basilan, and Butuan from February to July 2009. Juico said it was only upon learning this that they began to investigate on their own regarding the matter. She added that the COA report was posted on the agency's website and is available to anyone who is interested.

The PCSO chair also contradicted Morato's claims that she, as a former PCSO director, signed the approval of contracts for the procurement of overpriced incubators and X-ray machines back in 2004. She explained that she had nothing to do with the approval of contracts because these already go through the PCSO's general manager and bids and awards committee. She added that their board resolutions indicated the contracts were subject to the government's procurement law. "Di ako nakikilam sa pagbibili niyan (I don't interfere with those kinds of procurements)," she said. 'Immediate evacuation' Juico likewise defended their decision to move from their old office in the Quezon Institute (QI) to the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), which she said was to save money and to keep their employees safe. She said that according to the evaluation of the Quezon City Engineering Office and the Department of Public Works and Highways, their old office in QI was "structurally defective." "In fact sinabi pa ni Sec. [Rogelio] Singson an immediate evacuation is recommended," she said, adding that the issue was already brought before the old PCSO board. She said that if they had stayed, they would have had to spend P85 to P150 million for every retrofitting of the QI building. She added that they had already spent P314 million when they moved there from San Marcelino. "This is over and above that, ang importante dito ang buhay ng mga taong nagtatrabaho dun (what's important are the lives of the people who work there)," she said, adding that they only spent P5 million for their move to the PICC. Juico, however, said the PCSO board won't defy the President's orders should he choose to relieve them at some point. "We serve at the pleasure of the President, siya lang ang makakapagsabi sa amin kung kami ay kailangan na namin umalis dito o hindi (he's the only one who can tell us to stay in office or resign)," she said. "Hindi naman ako papalag di tulad ng ibang taong pumapalag pag sila'y pinapaalis na (I won't be like other appointees who, despite being told to step down from office, won't)," she added. — Kimberly Jane Tan/RSJ, GMA News