Baricuatro, daughter cleared of illegal solicitation charges

Local

PROSECUTORS cleared Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro and her daughter Elisse Nicole Catalan of charges alleging illegal online solicitation of donations over several years.

The charges had something to do with solicitations made by SimplyShare Foundation, whose founder is Baricuatro. Catalan is the foundation's executive director.

Department of Social Welfare and Development-Central Visayas (DSWD-7) Director Shalaine Marie Lucero filed the complaint against the charitable insitution last year, amid the height of the 2025 elections, when Baricuatro was still running as a gubernatorial candidate.

Lucero claimed the organization violated Presidential Decree 1564, the Solicitation Permit Law, and the Cybercrime Prevention Act (RA 10175) by soliciting donations through its website and social media without securing the required licenses and solicitation permits from 2021 to 2024.

Based on a copy of the resolution given to the media on Tuesday, March 24, 2026 Baricuatro and Catalan submitted counter-affidavits, asserting that they acted in good faith.

Catalan said she assumed the role of executive director on October 1, 2024, and had no knowledge of the foundation’s operations before that.

Baricuatro explained that she delegated daily compliance and regulatory matters to designated personnel.

Both emphasized that programs cited in the complaint, including the Cebu Food Bank and Soup Kitchen, ran in partnership with religious and civic groups.

They also noted that donations from Philippine Navy and Coast Guard personnel passed through the foundation as a conduit, and that some volunteer-led fundraising projects did not operate fully online or through active donation buttons.

The Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office dismissed the case in a resolution promulgated on July 24, 2025.

Prosecutors ruled that the electronic evidence, including social media screenshots and website content, lacked proper authentication under the Rules on Electronic Evidence.

They also found that DSWD 7 ignored the mandatory three-notice rule, which requires organizations to receive prior written notices before legal action, allowing the foundation to respond administratively.

The resolution highlighted that SimplyShare Foundation filed annual accomplishment reports for 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024 and received certificates of registration for 2021, 2022, and 2024.

Prosecutors noted that the foundation’s license to operate, issued on January 9, 2025, remains valid until January 10, 2028.

They emphasized that the foundation directed donations exclusively toward disaster relief, feeding programs, and other public welfare initiatives, with no evidence of fraud, misappropriation, or personal gain.

Prosecutors concluded that any compliance lapses should have been addressed administratively rather than through criminal prosecution.

“It was the DSWD that stood against us, yet in the same year, they gave us an award,” she said, adding that they were the first to immediately send help to those affected by Typhoon Odette.(MyTVCebu)