Has Cam come to PCSO in behalf of Ang?

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BY HERBERT VEGO
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February 15, 2018
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STAKEHOLDERS wonder why President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Sandra Cam as a board director of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), where she is proving to be a pain in the ass of the general manager, Alexander Balutan, whom she had accused of splurging P10 million (later corrected to be P6.4 million), for their Christmas party.

She also accused Balutan and then PCSO chairman Jose Jorge Corpuz of dealing with Bong Pineda, who is allegedly a big-time operator of the illegal jueteng.

As a result, Corpuz resigned on the pretext of failing health.

Will her apparent closeness to Duterte lead to the dismissal of Balutan and to the appointment of a gambling lord to take over? Madre mia, that’s like having Dracula take charge of the blood bank!

But then, there he was – gambling lord Charlie “Atong” Ang – in a Senate hearing chaired by Sen. Panfilo Lacson of the games and amusement committee, belittling the performance of Balutan, a Philippine Military Academy (PMA) graduate and retired Marine Major General.

Ang alleged that the Small Town Lottery (STL) operators chosen by the PCSO were illegal bookies in disguise. He suggested that PCSO itself should directly run the numbers game using his undisclosed “formula” in order to gain P60 billion in yearly revenue.

Under Balutan’s management, PCSO gained P16 billion in 2017, which was almost thrice higher than 2016’s P6 billion.

Cam, on the other hand, named Sam Aguilar of Eagle Crest Gaming and Holding Corporation – which handles STL operation in the province of Iloilo – as “drug supplier” to the late drug lord Melvin Odicta.  Aguilar, who was present in the same Senate hearing, flatly denied the “hearsay” devoid of whatever evidence.

Did she say that to justify takeover of the Iloilo territory by someone else?

Duterte, however, had previously asked Cam to mend ties with Balutan.

Why should Duterte drop Balutan like a hot potato when he had already defended him in a speech in Cebu City on Feb. 12?  He said, “Iyong reklamo kay Balutan na gumastos ng milyon? Wala ’yon [referring to the expensive Christmas party].”

On the contrary, it’s the Cam-Ang tandem on the defensive because of their undeniable past. Remember how Cam became publicly known as a whistleblower during a Senate investigation in 2005? She admitted having delivered, in behalf of a jueteng lord, “protection fee” to then presidential son congressman Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo.

On the other hand, Ang hit the big time with his rise as the coddled gambling lord during the incumbency of President Joseph Estrada.

It is not surprising why Ang is mad at Balutan. There was a time in September 2016 when, accompanied by Cam, Ang allegedly visited him at the PCSO office to offer a bribe of P200 million monthly in exchange for monopolizing the operation of STL nationwide. Balutan refused it.

Moreover, Ang’s Meridien Vista Gaming Corporation (MVGC), which operated jai alai within the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority, hit a snag following a Court of Appeals’ order stopping its operation, since it was competing for bettors with the STL in North Cagayan.

While it’s true that Duterte might have at one time intended to replace Balutan or the resigned Corpuz with Sandra Cam, this might no longer be tenable because of opposing pressure from a few police and military generals who, like Corpuz and Balutan, had graduated from the Philippine Military Academy.

Moreover, Ang has been identified as a “yellowtard” by the “Dutertards” who hate former President Aquino and idolize Duterte. He was named in intelligence documents as the jueteng operator in 11 Luzon provinces during the previous administration.

Aray! (hvego31@gmail.com /PN)
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