PCSO officials and employees told:
Refund P57M disallowed cash perks
BY Peter Tabingo
THE Commission on Audit has ordered officials and employees of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) to refund P57.1 million in unauthorized allowances and benefits paid to them in 2012 for violation of RA 6758 or the Salary Standardization Law and failure to secure the prior approval of the Office of the President.
In a 12-page decision, the COA en banc denied the petition for review filed by former PCSO general manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas II and other agency officials which sought the lifting of five notices of disallowance (NDs) all dated October 8, 2013.
Among the questioned perks were the P27.43 million weekly draw allowance and P24.42 million cost of living allowance for all officers and employees; two car loans totaling P1.28 million for two members of the PCSO Board of Director (BOD)s; excess per diems for the BOD amounting for P2.71 million; and salaries representation, allowances for the BOD in the sum of P1.25 million.
In their appeal, PCSO officials claimed RA 1169, or the law that created the state lottery firm authorized the Board of Directors to fix the salaries and benefits of its personnel.
They likewise asserted that earlier issuances by former Presidents lent validity to the questioned cash benefits which have become part of the compensation package of PCSO workers.
However, the COA Commission Proper held that the PCSO’s BOD was not vested with “unbridled authority to approve all past and future allowances.”
It clarified that the payment of allowances and benefits to BOD was illegal since its members are not considered salaried employees and hence are not entitled to fringe benefits.
While earlier, the requirement to refund was only imposed on officials who approved and certified the disallowed cash benefits while ordinary employees who had no decision-making powers were excused based on receiving their share in good faith, the COA said recent rulings of the Supreme Court made it mandatory that all received disallowed sums must return the money.
“The provision on unjust enrichment was made as basis by the SC in requiring the recipients to return the amount disallowed in the case of Chozas vs. COA where it held that the natural consequence of a finding that the allowances and benefits were illegally disbursed, is the consequent obligation on the part of all recipients to restore said amounts to the government coffers,” the Commission said.
In a separate decision released last week, the COA also affirmed the disallowance against unauthorized cash stipend totaling P254.8 million released to officials and employees in 2013.
Both decisions were signed by Commissioners Roland Café Pondoc and Mario G. Lipana while Chairperson Gamaliel A. Cordoba inhibited.
Police colonel blackmailing ex-girlfriend faces admin raps
BY VICTOR REYES
A POLICE colonel who used a sex video to blackmail his former girlfriend is now facing administrative charges, on top of criminal charges lodged against him.
“The policeman was relieved (from his position) when this was reported to PNP authorities,” PNP spokeswoman Col. Jean Fajardo told a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo, without identifying the officer.
“And he was charged administratively. That is separate from the criminal cases he is facing before the prosecutor’s office,” Fajardo said.
Earlier reports said the colonel was recently charged before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office, specifically violation of the Anti-Violence against Women and their Children Law of 2004, the Anti-Photo and Video Voyeurism Act of 2009, the Safe Spaces Law, the Data Privacy Act of 2012, and the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, grave coercion, intrigue against honor, and unjust vexation.
The complainant alleged she met the officer via Facebook in 2020 and they later had an intimate relationship. He even recorded a video of them having sex.
She alleged the officer borrowed from her a total of P245,000 in cash. When she demanded payment and threatened to file a case before the barangay last January, the officer said he would tell the barangay chairman they had a relationship and would show their sex video.
Last January, a person who claimed to be the policeman’s wife sent a message to the complainant through Facebook to say she had copies of their sex video.
The same social media account sent the sex video to the complainant’s husband and daughter.
“What I can confirm is there was a criminal case filed against a police officer. But as to the facts and circumstances, (I cannot discuss). I hope you understand,” said Fajardo.
“I hope you understand. It involves a violation of some laws. If we identify the respondent, it may lead to the identification of the victim. Because the case is very sensitive, we opt not to identify the police officer involved,” added Fajardo.
Fajardo said the officer was relieved as early as July last year when the PNP learned of the incident, adding the officer was re-assigned to the Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit at Camp Crame.
“The Chief PNP immediately ordered the relief of the officer after learning about the complaint,” said Fajardo.
DMW shuts down travel agency for illegal recruitment
By Gerard Naval
THE Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) yesterday padlocked the office of a travel agency for allegedly illegally recruiting Filipino workers for bogus jobs in Poland.
With the aid of the Quezon City police, the DMW shut down the office of Tranvia Travel Agency on P. Tuazon Boulevard in Cubao, Quezon City.
“The agency was operating without the necessary license or authority from the DMW,” said DMW Officer-in-Charge Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac in an interview.
He said the operation was the fruit of the effort of the Filipino Community in Poland, which called the attention of the Migrant Workers Office in Prague (MWO-Prague) to investigate the illegal recruitment activities.
Cacdac said that the MWO-Prague discovered that Tranvia Travel was using social media platforms, such as Facebook and WhatsApp, to prey on prospective applicants.
Cacdac said the firm promised jobs for warehousemen, factory workers, and nurses in Poland with monthly salaries ranging from P80,000 to P100,000.
Further surveillance operations conducted by the DMW revealed that the agency was charging processing fees of P200,000 to P350,000 from prospective applicants.
Cacdac said the processing fee can be paid with the option of a one-time payment or on a staggered basis, payable in three installments, and is non-refundable.
With the closure, the DMW said officers and personnel of Tranvia Travel Agency will face serious charges of illegal recruitment with victims urged to help in filing cases.
Cacdac said the perpetrators will also be included in the DMW “List of Persons and Establishments with Derogatory Record” and shall be blacklisted from participating in the government’s overseas recruitment program.
Private sector workers biggest 2023 PhilHealth contributors
BY GERARD NAVAL
PRIVATE sector employees comprise the biggest chunk of the membership contributions in 2023 of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).
Latest data from the PhilHealth shows that for the entirety of 2023, it had P224,944,850,468 premium contributions.
Of the total, the amount of P98,132,899,256 or 44 percent of direct contributions came from private sector employees.
Their counterparts from the public sector came in second among direct contributors, with P38,963,855,250 or 17 percent.
Members of the informal economy but are direct contributors account for P9,042,988,763 or 4 percent.
As for PhilHealth members under the indirect contributors category, senior citizens accounted the most at P42,931,355,000 or 19 percent.
Those from the indigent sector, meanwhile, accounted for P35,256,167,000 indirect contributions or 16 percent.
Getting the smallest slice are the sponsored sectors, such as persons with disabilities and those sponsored by local government units, with P617,585,198 or 0.3 percent.
To note, PhilHealth only has two types of contributors, namely direct and indirect contributors.
Direct are those who have the capacity to pay premiums, while indirect are those whose premium are subsidized by the government.
PMA ’79 class adopts Marcos
BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR
THE 1979 “Matapat” Class of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) has adopted President Marcos Jr. as their member and vowed to support him and his administration.
Members of the PMA Class 1979 paid a courtesy call on the President in Malacañang yesterday and presented to him Resolution 2024-005 which recognizes Marcos as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and as a “distinguished member of the PMA ‘MATAPAT’ Class of 1979.”
The PMA class also reaffirmed their commitment to the President and support towards the administration’s development goals and committed to uphold the highest standards of integrity and professionalism, to serve the Filipino people, and safeguard the nation’s sovereignty and security.
The President commended the PMA Class 1979 for their dedication to the principles of duty, honor and to the country, and expressed his gratitude for their continued support and loyalty.
OP personnel told: Do your job
BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR
PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday called on the members of the Office of the President (OP) to do their jobs and improve their delivery of service to the public.
The President, during the flag-raising ceremony at the Kalayaan grounds in Malacanang, said the rank and file of the OP has been given a great responsibility that it must fulfill and “it must be a responsibility that we must do so as to make our people proud of us.
“That is why, I suppose the one way to put it is, that we have to absolutely get this right, we have to absolutely do our jobs, and people need for us to be responsible and to realize how important the work that we do is,” he said.
Marcos said the OP has been there for 127 years and policy directions set by the office is felt by the entire country and continue to be felt several years after.
He said without the OP’s work, the leadership of the entire country would be much weaker.
“Sometimes, because of the volume of the work, sa dami ng trabaho ay hindi natin naiisip na— basta trabaho lang. Ngunit ang katotohanan diyan, bawat isang proyekto, bawat isang desisyon, bawat isang implementasyon ng polisiya ay nararamdaman ng buong Pilipinas (Sometimes, because of the volume of the work, because of the tons of work, we do not think about it — we just work. But in reality, each project, each decision, each policy implementation if felt by the entire Philippines),” the President said.
“Kaya’t kailangang na kailangan na ipagbuti natin ang ating mga trabaho. Kailangan natin ipagbuti at lagi natin maalala ang ating pagmamahal sa bansang Pilipinas at sa ating mga kapwang Pilipino (That’s why we need to do a good job. We need to do better and always remember our love for the Philippines and our fellow Filipino),” Marcos added.
The OP was established on March 22, 1897 by virtue of Administrative Order No. 322, s. 1997 which adopted the stand of the National Historical Institute Board.
The board decided that the OP came into being during the Tejeros Convention on March 22, 1897, when General Emilio Aguinaldo was elected president of the Philippine Revolutionary Government.
