PAGCOR urged to file charges vs. officials behind contract with ex-third party POGO auditor

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is calling on the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to file charges against officials who are involved in the alleged anomalous contracting of its former third party auditor for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO).

“Kailangang panagutin ang mga opisyal at empleyado ng PAGCOR na naging pabaya o kaya’y nakipagsabwatan sa Global ComRCI na dahilan kung bakit sa kanila napunta ang kontrata kahit na malinaw na hindi sila kwalipikado,” Gatchalian said in a statement.

(The PAGCOR officials and employees who were negligent or who conspired with Global ComRCI should be held accountable for awarding the contract to the firm even though it is clear that it is not qualified.)

“Dapat nating habulin para masampahan ng kaso ang mga opisyal at empleyado sa gobyerno na gumagawa ng mga katiwalian para masawata ang mga ganitong gawain,” he added.

(We should seek accountability and file charges against the officials and employees of the government who are doing such acts so we can remove them from our system.)

Gatchalian, who recently called for an immediate ban on POGOs, made the statement almost a month after PAGCOR terminated its contract with Global ComRCI for alleged “unlawful acts” following a review of the deal.

Global ComRCI was awarded a 10-year contract by PAGCOR as early as 2017, with PAGCOR saying the service provider went through the proper bidding process and met all the legal requirements under the Procurement Law.

It was Gatchalian who questioned PAGCOR’s contract with Global ComRCI during a Senate ways and means committee inquiry into POGO operations last January. The firm was alleged to have been awarded the contract based on spurious bank certifications.

The lawmaker noted that PAGCOR did not check on the supposed bank entity through visits to its office or certifications with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), and just relied on the documents submitted by the auditor.

The bank that allegedly certified Global ComRCI also denied issuing such a certification, according to Gatchalian.

In a previous interview on Super Radyo dzBB, PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco said Global ComRCI had submitted all bidding documents.

"I don't see any irregularity in the contract because if you will go through the documents that they did submit during the time of the bidding, one thing is clear: they complied with the requirements of the [terms of reference]," said Tengco.

After the termination of the contract, PAGCOR said it has already endorsed the matter to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) for the possible filing of administrative, civil, and criminal cases against Global ComRCI.

The 2017 consultancy contract, which was posted on the state regulator’s website, was signed by former PAGCOR chief Andrea Domingo while Global ComRCI was represented by a certain Jose Mari Saulo. —KBK, GMA Integrated News