EDITORIAL - Party animals

After gambler Charlie “Atong” Ang was dragged into the controversy, the furor over the millions spent by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office for its Christmas party has died down. Accusations of impropriety were hurled at PCSO officials by new board member Sandra Cam, who described the P9.88 million for the office Christmas Party as “lavish.”

The description is accurate, even if PCSO general manager Alexander Balutan clarified that while the board approved the P9.88 million when planning the party, “only” P6 million was actually spent. Balutan, a retired military officer, also stressed that the grand Christmas party, held in a five-star hotel in Mandaluyong, has been a tradition in the PCSO.

If the New Year firecracker tradition, observed by millions of households in the Philippines, can be broken, so can multimillion-peso parties using precious public funds. Because of the nature of its work, the PCSO is one of the top moneymaking government-owned or controlled corporations. The lottery alone generates billions annually. Those earnings, however, are public funds with specific uses as defined by law and GOCC rules.

When Cam hurled her accusations almost as soon as she received her appointment, Malacañang said President Duterte, whose office has direct supervision over the PCSO, did not want lavish Christmas parties. Palace officials may have to define “lavish” not only for the PCSO and other moneymaking GOCCs but also for all other agencies in the executive branch.

How much is lavish, and is there a ceiling for party spending in government? Taxpayers may be willing to blow P6 million on a party of regional or international importance for the nation, such as dinners or ministerial meetings for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. But is this kind of spending allowed for the sheer enjoyment of a single agency? Cam may be after Balutan’s post, but she has a valid beef. Government auditors, tasked to look after public welfare, should scrutinize the PCSO’s party expenditures. So should the Office of the Ombudsman.

To prevent a repeat of the controversy, Malacañang should draw up specific guidelines on public spending for parties in all government agencies in the executive branch including GOCCs. Traditions do not necessarily render something right. A former military chief, under fire for financial anomalies in the Armed Forces, explained that he was simply carrying on a tradition. It didn’t get him off the hook.

Government employees need not be deprived of the opportunity to celebrate Christmas with colleagues. But the celebration should always be tempered by the thought that public funds must be used judiciously.