President Rodrigo Duterte “does not tolerate extravagance,” Malacañang on Thursday assured the public, amid the reported P6-million Christmas party of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) held in a five-star hotel. In a news conference, Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said Duterte would look into the matter, first divulged by newly appointed PCSO director Sandra Cam. Cam, who leads an organization of whistleblowers, skipped the PCSO Christmas party on Tuesday at EDSA Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong City after she found out that P10 million was spent for the event, which she said was “inappropriate.”However, PCSO General Manager Alexander Balutan refuted Cam’s claims, and said the Department of Budget and Management even approved a Christmas party budget of P14 million. Roque said he was unsure if P10 million or P6 million could be considered an extravagant budget considering the number of PCSO employees and partners nationwide. Because we do not know how big that party was considering that PCSO is a nationwide organization,” Roque said.

Source: Manila Times December 21, 2017 16:30 UTC