GMA’s publicist ordered to answer jai alai complaint

President Arroyo’s personal publicist Dante Ang and three other officials of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) were ordered by the Ombudsman to answer charges that they misused some P100 million allegedly belonging to jai alai operators.

Overall Deputy Ombudsman Margarito Gervasio Jr. directed Pagcor chairman Ephraim Genuino, retired Commodore Domingo Calajate, former Immigration Commissioner Manuel Roxas and Ang to rebut the complaint of 51 jai alai operators.

The complaint was filed by 12 officials of the Jai Alai Off-fronton Operators Association (JOOA), led by its president Nicanor Salgado, which claimed the three Pagcor board members unilaterally terminated their valid two-year contracts.

"Pagcor’s act of unilaterally terminating an otherwise valid contract reeks of bad faith. The closure orders are serious grounds for breach of a supposedly inviolable contract," a portion of the eight-page complaint read.

Salgado claimed the state-owned gaming firm did not even bother to respond to their demand letters for a refund of their investments, which included loss of income, rental payments, utility payments, insurance premiums and other expenses, amounting to P100 million.

According to the jai alai operators, Pagcor "concealed" that its jai alai operations were "under litigation.. before, during and after the execution of the contracts."

JOOA only came to know of the case when the Supreme Court issued its Nov. 29, 2000 ruling that Pagcor had no legislative franchise to operate jai alai.

"Pagcor clearly and deliberately omitted such fact in the contract just to make the same more enticing to would-be investors as the members of the JOOA were in this case," they said.

The group also assailed Pagcor’s uncertainty with regard to its operation of the Basque game as it even sought the opinions of the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Solicitor General and the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC).

"This uncertainty, contrary to Pagcor’s unambiguous declaration in the contract, was likewise deviously camouflaged from JOOA. Pagcor officials, through evident bad faith, caused undue injury to the officers and members of the JOOA," they stressed.

On Aug. 24, the SC voted 10-5 to partially reverse its Nov. 29 ruling, saying jai alai would not be closed down provided only Pagcor or the government would operate the game.

Justice Jose Vitug, who penned the seven-page en banc resolution, said that Pagcor has a "valid franchise" and that it is the only one who can "operate, maintain or manage the game of jai alai."

The SC stood pat on its earlier ruling which declared that Belle Corp. and Filipinas Gaming Entertainment Totalizator Corp. (Filgame) had no legislative franchise to operate jai alai.

On June 20, the justices voted 8-7 and held that there was no reason for them to reverse their Nov. 29 ruling since Pagcor, Belle and Filgame didn’t get the vote of the majority.

In its Nov. 29 ruling, the SC directed Pagcor, Belle Corp. and Filgame to "stop managing, maintaining and operating jai alai games and from enforcing the agreement entered into by them for that purpose."