Ongpin's daughter also resigns from PhilWeb

The daughter of beleaguered businessman Roberto V. Ongpin also stepped down from her position as vice chairman and director publicly-listed online gaming firm PhilWeb Corp. on heel of her father's resignation from the company.

"I hereby tender my resignation, with immediate effect, as vice chairman and director of PhilWeb Corp. and all of its subsidiaries," Anna Bettina Ongpin said a letter to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

The younger Ongpin noted the reason for her resignation was "... to devote more time and attention to other business matters."

The older Ongpin resigned as chairman of the gaming firm after having been tagged by President Rodrigo Duterte as among the oligarchs embedded in government.

The businessman would now "... focus on the real estate projects of Alphaland Corp," PhilWeb noted in a separate disclosure.

"Ang plano ko talaga is ... destroy the oligarchs that are embedded in government. Iyan-iyan sila. I’ll give you an example, publicly, in front of the Ongpin, Roberto—kay [Ferdinand] Marcos noon, trade minister, I think. Malakas siya sa succession.

"[With Fidel] Ramos, he was a hanger on and kay Gloria [Macapagal-Arroyo], PNoy [Benigno Aquino III]. Now he owns the online [gambling firm]," the President said in a speech on Wednesday.

The older Ongpin is facing disqualification from serving as an officer or board member of any public company and has been ordered to pay P174 million in fines by the Securities and Exchange Commission for alleged insider trading.

The decision modified an order by the SEC's Enforcement and Investor Protection Department that found Ongpin liable for insider trading but meted a fine of only P17.4 million.

On Thursday, he called the ruling by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) “erroneous and grossly unfair.”

As of 2:49 p.m., PhilWeb shares were up P0.110 or 1.23 percent at P9.06 apiece after shedding P5.23 or 36.88 percent to close at P8.95 on Thursday. — Ted Cordero/VDS, GMA News