PAGCOR: No special favors given to Okada firm

An official of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) on Tuesday denied giving special favors to a firm owned by Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada, amid ongoing probes on alleged payoffs channeled by the company to a former consultant of the government agency.

 

Francis Hernando, vice president of PAGCOR’s licensed casino development department, said Okada’s Universal Entertainment Corp. never received favors such as tax breaks and concessions on land ownership from Philippine gaming regulators.

 

He added that the four firms involved in PAGCOR’s $2-billion Entertainment City project received similar licenses and treatment from the Philippine government.

 

“The reality is that all four licenses are identical. The Tiger group does not have any incentive that the other three do not have,” Hernando said at the sidelines of a congressional inquiry on Tuesday morning on alleged PAGCOR anomalies.

 

The probe was launched amid ongoing investigations by Philippine and United States authorities on reports that the Tiger Resorts, a Universal subsidiary, gave millions of pesos to companies controlled by ex-PAGCOR consultant Rodolfo Soriano as alleged bribe. Soriano is also closely associated with former PAGCOR head Efraim Genuino.  

Hernando likewise clarified that it is beyond PAGCOR’s authority to grant tax breaks, which he said are already under the jurisdiction of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority.

 

Lawyer Joseph Joemer Perez, Tiger Resorts counsel, meanwhile said during the hearing that the firm “complied with all the requirements” set by PAGCOR and is willing to answer questions on the provisional license the company obtained from the agency.

 

Tolerant?

 

During the hearing, Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño questioned PAGCOR’s supposed “tolerance” towards allegedly anomalous dealings with Tiger Resorts.

 

“It seems like this is not a cause of concern for you. You are just allowing this situation to go on. You appear to be tolerant of a situation that is already apparent to some observers,” Casiño told PAGCOR officials during the inquiry.

 

The congressman added that PAGCOR and Tiger Resorts officials seem to be “enjoying” the allegedly anomalous deals.

 

Lawyer Jay Daniel Santiago, PAGCOR chief legal counsel, answered Casiño’s pronouncements by saying that the agency will not take bribery lightly.

 

“We are taking these allegations very seriously. If there is any proof that bribery or the giving of favors took place in exchange of the license, we will have no qualms to cancel the license. We will not tolerate that,” Santiago said.

 

“To give confidence to our investors, we have to appear firm on the outside, but internally, we are not taking this lightly,” he added. — RSJ, GMA News