Pagcor exec details raps vs Genuino

MANILA, Philippines - Former Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) chairman Efraim Genuino is facing plunder charges before the Ombudsman’s office for the alleged misuse of P478.8 million in agency funds.

Jay Santiago, who heads Pagcor’s legal office, told the House committee on good government yesterday that the “plundered” funds included P226.2 million in coffee purchases made from a single supplier from 2005 to 2008.

He said among those charged with Genuino in the coffee consumption case were Rafael Francisco, former Pagcor president, and Carlota Manalo Tan, the coffee supplier.

Santiago briefed the committee on the status of five cases the current Pagcor management has filed against former agency officers, members of its board of directors, personnel, suppliers, and other private individuals.

The committee’s inquiry was prompted by a resolution filed by Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño.

Apparently based on the report of his Pagcor appointees, President Aquino once complained of the huge amount former officials spent on coffee.

The total of P226.2 million covered by the plunder case meant that the gaming agency spent an average of P56.55 million a year in coffee purchases from one supplier alone.

Santiago said Pagcor filed the case directly with the Office of the Ombudsman.

He said a second plunder case against Genuino and 42 other Pagcor officers, employees and private individuals was filed with the Department of Justice (DOJ) in July 2011.

He said the DOJ endorsed the complaint to the Ombudsman’s office last Sept. 18.

It involves the use of P186 million in Pagcor funds in the 2010 election by the Batang Iwas Droga (BIDA) party-list group organized by the Genuino family, he added.

Among Genuino’s co-accused in this case are Francisco, former director Manuel Roxas, Rene Figueroa, Ester Hernandez, Valente Custodio, Philip Lo, Imelda Dimaporo, Rodolfo Soriano Jr., and Edward King, former vice president for corporate affairs.

Soriano, reportedly a close associate of Genuino according to a report by the news agency Reuters, was the recipient of at least $30 million in transfers from billionaire Japanese casino investor Kazuo Okada, one of Pagcor’s four licensees in its $5-billion Entertainment City project in the Parañaque-Pasay City area.