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Former jueteng whistleblower Sandra Cam skipped the annual Christmas party of PCSO.
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The PCSO Board member described the annual event as “very grandiose party.”
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Netizens reacted to the allegedly millions of expenditures for the “lavish” event.
Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) spent P6 million for their annual Christmas party, contrary to the P10 million claims of the former jueteng whistle-blower Sandra Cam. Held at Edsa Shangri-La’s Isla Ballroom, the event was described as “lavish” event for a government agency that doles out assistance to the less fortunate.
The PCSO Board member skipped the event as a protest against the event. She described the event as “inappropriate” and “very grandiose party.”
“We could have held the Christmas party in the office or in our own departments,” Sandra Cam said.
“But shelling out P10 million in a five-star hotel? That’s something else,” she added.
However, according to PCSO general manager Alexander Balutan refuted Cam’s statement on Wednesday, and said that the Department of Budget and Management had approved the original Christmas party budget of P14 million, but that he had it cut down to P6 million.
“Almost half of the (P6 million) went to the employees in terms of (raffle and performance) prizes,” he further explained.
“They worked hard to raise PCSO earnings from P37.4 billion to P51 billion by the end of 2017, a record high in history. We also have to take care of the employees (who were) stripped of their Christmas bonuses and 13th-month pay. What they get are only basic salaries. That’s P6 million to be exact, for 1580 employees,” he added.
Balutan also insisted that their employees deserved the Christmas party a sit happens just once a year.
“You celebrate Christmas (only) once a year. Our last party was austere, we just celebrated at the Philippine Navy (headquarters). Our employees deserve (the party). It was not lavish,” he said.
Meanwhile, netizens reacted to the “lavish” and the allegedly “over-spending” of the government charity agency.
Kapamilya comedienne questioned the said event, “Wwoooww ang bongga ng christmas party nyo PCSO ha!!! 6M ang budget? sa dami ng nagugutom at mahihirap na lumalapit sa tulong ng departamento nyo??? WOW! 5 star hotel sa mandaluyong ang venue? WOW! merry christmas sa inyo ha!!”
“PCSO’s alleged 10 Million peso Christmas party for 1500+ employees gathered from all over the archipelago was FAKE NEWS according to the Chairman, they just spent 6.2 Million, OMG its still LAVISH! A 4,140/head budget! Tradisyon na raw nila yun!? OA huh!’
“Ay ang saya at ang sarap naman po pala umattend ng christmas party ng pcso 6M ang budget waw hahahaha.”
“P14.3 million for PCSO’s Christmas party. PCSO’ total employees: 1500+ Christmas expense per employee: P8,900 (estimated) Di ito lavish, GM? Wuw.”
“Ang galante ng Christmas Party ng PCSO ha. Tapos ang mga dialysis patients na kukuha ng claims for additional dialysis coverage sasabihan nyong walang budget balik nalang next year. Di nyo yan pera ha baka nakakalimutan nyo.”
What do you think of the annual Christmas party of PCSO? Share your thoughts guys!
