Sandra Cam seeks probe of PCSO's 'grandiose' party at 5-star hotel

MANILA, Philippines — Sandra Cam, a board member of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, is seeking an audit and a possible Senate inquiry into the charity agency's "grandiose" Christmas party, probes the office is ready to face, according to its head.

Cam, who was a whistleblower in an illegal-numbers game mess more than a decade ago, claimed that PCSO spent almost P10 million for its Christmas party held in the five-star hotel near its office on Tuesday night.

Speaking to ANC, Cam showed a document dated Nov. 16, 2017 signed by PCSO General Manager Alexander Balutan, indicating that the budget for the party held in Shangri-La Edsa was P9.8 million.

She said that she decided not to attend the party, which she described as "grandiose" and "lavish," as a sign of protest. She added that she also directed her staff not to go to the event except for one who took pictures of the celebration.

"I found out that it was really a lavish, grandiose celebration that PCSO had," she said in the interview, stressing that she was not after Balutan's position and just wanted most of the money to go to victims of calamities in many parts of the country.

Balutan defended his office's "grandiose" Christmas party at a five-star hotel, saying that the venue was "the cheapest and most affordable" for the charity agency.

He also clarified that only around P6 million was spent for the agency's party at a ballroom of Shangri-La Edsa on Tuesday, and the almost P10 million figure being cited by Sandra Cam, a board member of the office, was just used for planning.

"It's the cheapest and most affordable since it's near the PCSO office and we will not be having problems about our parking spaces," Balutan said in an interview with ANC.

Balutan justified the amount spent by the charity agency for its party, saying that it already covered the food, the venue and the special effects needed for the "theatrical presentations" of PCSO's employees, which he claimed is a tradition in the office.

Balutan even bared that the million-peso party was "way below" compared to those staged by the charity agency in the past years.

He also scored Cam for unilaterally moving for the cancelation of the party at the hotel before the event, saying that the decision of the board was collegial and could not be overturned that easily.

On the probes that Cam was pushing, he said, "We are ready anytime, any investigation, anything under the sun."

READ: Palace to verify allegations PCSO spent P10M for Christmas party

Cam said that the food and venue alone cost around P3.3 million while P3.7 million was allotted for the raffle prizes for the employees.

"With that alone it's already P7 million," she said.

She also denied that 1,500 PCSO employees attended the party.

"There are some disgruntled employees who don't want to be in that situation," she said.