Palace nixes probe on Sandra Cam

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang yesterday rejected the call to investigate Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board director Sandra Cam over corruption allegations, following detained opposition Sen. Leila de Lima’s challenge to President Duterte to fire the former whistle-blower.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the Palace has already referred the alleged corruption issue at the PCSO to the Office of the Ombudsman.

“Since it’s already with the ombudsman and the ombudsman has the power to suspend, I think we will let it do the process,” Panelo said, adding that the Palace would rather allow the process to take its course than submit itself to the recommendation of Duterte’s harsh critic, De Lima.

Panelo said the proper agencies are already conducting investigation on the allegations.

“It’s being investigated,” he said.

“We will not be duplicating any investigation, considering the fact that there is now a pending case with the ombudsman,” he added.

In a statement last Sunday, De Lima challenged Duterte to fire Cam, whom the senator alleged to have amassed unexplained wealth reaching P500 million since she was appointed to the PSCO.

Cam laughs off allegations

Meanwhile, Cam laughed off De Lima’s allegations, saying the embattled senator had gotten her information from a spiked source.

“To the jailed Senator Leila de Lima, you better shut up. You don’t know what’s happening outside,” the feisty Cam told The STAR when asked to comment on the allegations against her by the female senator.

Cam said that De Lima had gotten her baseless and false allegations from a certain Lino Lim, who Cam said had an unsavory reputation in her home province of Masbate.

“That guy from Masbate, he was arrested by the (National Bureau of Investigation). He’s a police character. You better ask the NBI about his character,” Cam said.

Despite this, Cam said she is open to any investigation on the allegations of unexplained wealth.

“I’m very open to any investigation,” she said, adding that she was not poor when she entered government service on Dec. 11, 2017 upon appointment by Duterte to the PCSO board directorship.

“Before I entered government service, I already had assets,” she said, mentioning ownership of two schools – the Nazareth Institute of Alfonso, Cavite and its branch in her hometown in Poblacion Batuan, Masbate.

Cam, however, denied that she had wealth reaching P500 million.

“I declared my assets. I filed my (statement of assets, liabilities and net worth) in 2018,” she said, stressing that her assets had been hers before she entered public service, so there is no basis to say that she could have enriched herself at PCSO.