PCSO officer convicted for pocketing lotto prizes, ordered to pay P1.88M

A DIVISION chief of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), identified by the Ombudsman as Angelica Fajardo, has been convicted by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Quezon City of Malversation of Public Funds, sentenced to 13-19 years imprisonment and ordered to pay the P1.88-million missing fund. Fajardo, with a rank of Cashier V and designated officer-in-charge head of the PCSO’s Prize Payment Division, has also been barred from public office. Prosecutors from the Ombudsman presented four witnesses from the PCSO who testified that in November 2008, Fajardo misappropriated portions of the P3 million cash advance granted to her for the payment of sweepstakes and lotto low-tier prizes, including prizes for the Scratch-it game. Fajardo, in a letter in January 2009, admitted her liability to the missing funds. In her decision, RTC Judge Tita Marilyn Payoyo-Villordon wrote: “The failure of a public officer to have duly forthcoming any public fund or property with which he is chargeable, upon demand by any duly authorized officer, shall be prima facie evidence that he has put such missing funds or property to personal use.” >> See full details on https://goo.gl/yjkxEh