PRRD defends suspension of STL, Keno, Peryahan ng Bayan anew

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte administers the oath to the newly appointed officials during a ceremony at the Malacañan Palace on August 5, 2019. ALBERT ALCAIN/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday defended anew his decision to suspend some gaming activities under the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) noting that was the only way to stop massive corruption within the charity agency.

Last week, Duterte lifted the suspension order on PCSO’s Lotto operations but kept the suspension on Small-Town Lottery (STL), Keno, and Peryahan ng Bayan (PNB) pending the investigation on corrupt practices.

“STL, Peryahan ng Bayan. P***** — puro nakaw. Ang i-remit nila minus ‘yung kinukunan na nila (they’re all stolen money. What they remit minus what they pocket). So I had to stop it,” Duterte said in his speech during the oath-taking of newly-appointed officials in Malacañan Palace.

Duterte reiterated that his frustration over being unable to curb corruption in government sometimes made him consider stepping down as President.

“Have you ever heard me say that gusto ko nang mag-resign kasi hindi ko mahabol ang (I want to resign because I can’t run after) corruption. I thought I could, but you know corruption has permitted government itself. Sinabi ko (I said) it’s corrupt to the core and it is right now,” Duterte said.

Earlier, Duterte said he will soon be naming around 10 PCSO officials involved in a multibillion-peso corruption scandal.

PCSO general manager Royina Garma has also bared her concerns on alleged anomalies in the agency’s STL operations.

Meanwhile, Duterte also mentioned corruption within the Bureau of Customs (BOC) wherein he fired 64 employees from the agency.

“I just fired 64, but if I could get away with the 100 more, I think we’ll have a cleaner, a better Customs, BIR (Bureau of Immigration).

 Pero sigurado itong 64 talagang tatanggalin ko na (But for sure, these 64, I’m really going to dismiss them),” Duterte said.