President Duterte is planning to give the next chairperson of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office the license to kill in order to weed out corruption in the agency.
Addressing the Mindanao environment summit in Davao City last Thursday, the President said he was looking for a “killer” to lead the PCSO as he expressed dismay at agency’s corrupt practices such as “racket” of mixing the illegal numbers game “jueteng” with the state lottery.
“Itong Philippine Charity Sweepstakes, it is a corrupt agency. ‘Yang mga pabingo-bingo, milyonaryo, hawak ng ano.
‘Yung lotto pati jueteng ginanon nila. That is the racket. You would notice, I’ve never appointed anybody there. I’m looking for a killer,” the President said.
“Baka ikaw siguro, kaya mo PCSO chairman. Barilin mo lahat, you have my blessing,” the President said, pointing to a member of the audience.
To corrupt PCSO officials, the President also warned that he would not hesitate to shoot them. Duterte was even confident he would not prosecuted since a sitting President is immune from lawsuit.
“I’d like to give you a warning: Do not F with me. I cannot pronounce the exact word, just the F and C. Don’t dare me. As President, I have the immunity from civil or criminal. If I lose my patience, I’ll call and shoot you,” he added.
The National Bureau of Investigation earlier conducted a probe into allegations that small-town lottery operations have become a front for illegal gambling.
Some STL operators reportedly used licenses to conduct jueteng operations and did not declare sales to the PCSO, which supposed reached P100 billion a year. (Genalyn D. Kabiling)
