Palace vows to look into P6-M party

President Rodrigo Duterte will get to the bottom of the reported P6-million budget for the Christmas party of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), Malacañang said yesterday.

Sandra Cam, who was recently appointed as PCSO board member, reportedly revealed that the agency shelled out around P10 million for its Christmas party that was allegedly held at the Edsa Shangri-La’s Isla Ballroom on the night of Tuesday, December 19.

PCSO general manager Alexander Balutan, however, disputed Cam’s claim, saying only P6 million was spent for the said party.

Balutan explained that the Budget department had originally approved a budget of P14 million for the PCSO’s Christmas party, but he slashed the amount down to P6 million.

In a press conference, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. gave assurance that the President would look into the reported multi-million-peso budget for the PCSO party.

“Number one, I have no in- formation yet because media reported that this was a statement attributed to director Sandra Cam. Number two, well, I think you know that the President does not tolerate extravagance so we do not know yet. I’m sure the President will look into the matter,” he said.

“As you know, he’s very sensitive to what is reported by his own people in the different branches of government. Let’s just say that with or without an order, the President takes heed,” Roque added.

Cam, a former jueteng whistle blower, purportedly snubbed the “very grandiose” Christmas party to protest the “inappropriate” celebration of PCSO.

But Balutan insisted that PCSO personnel deserved the party and said the Shangri-La Hotel was not spacious enough to accommodate the 1,500 employees.

He also stressed that there was no irregularity in the event. He also said the PCSO has committed to allocate the P8-million unspent funds to the calamity fund for areas affected by Tropical Storm Urduja.

For now, Roque refused to comment whether the party was “extravagant,” saying he still needed to vet Cam’s allegation by communicating with the PCSO officials.