Casino staff denies supplying fake ID to help DPWH officials enter casino

A man accused of helping Department of Public Works and Highways officials obtain fake identification cards to enter a casino denied on Thursday any role in falsifying the documents.

During the resumption of the Senate blue ribbon committee's probe into the flood project controversy, Archibald Torregrosa insisted he merely accompanied the DPWH officials to the membership counter and did not manufacture or request the production of any false identification.

“Hindi po ako ’yung gumawa o nagpagawa ng mga ID po nila. Sinamahan ko lamang po sila sa membership counter upang magpagawa ng mga cards,” Torregrosa told senators.

(I was not the one who made or had their IDs made. I merely accompanied them to the membership counter to apply for their cards.) 

Torregrosa was linked to former Bulacan first district assistant engineer Brice Hernandez’s alleged use of a fake ID under the name “Marvin de Guzman” to enter a casino in 2022.

Torregrosa repeatedly said he did not know why the membership card issued under Hernandez’s photo bore a different name.

“Hindi ko po alam (I don’t know), Your Honor,” he said.

Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, however, warned that facilitating fake IDs could make Torregrosa an accomplice to a criminal act.

“Kung totoong kayo ang nag-facilitate sa paggawa ng fake IDs para makapagsugal sila sa casino, nagiging instrumento kayo. Hindi lang accessory, kundi accomplice sa krimen,” Dela Rosa said.

(If it’s true that you facilitated the production of fake IDs so they could gamble in the casino, you became an instrument. You’re not just an accessory but an accomplice to the crime.)

Torregrosa maintained his innocence and claimed that the IDs were issued by Solaire employees.

“Iba-ibang empleyado po ng Solaire [ang gumagawa ng ID],” he said.

(Several Solaire employees make the IDs.)

He added that he could no longer remember their names since the incident happened in October 2022, but said the casino’s real-time membership photos could help verify when the cards were issued.

Hernandez, who earlier admitted to entering and playing at the casino, denied knowledge of the fake ID and claimed that a certain “Mike Archibal,” believed to be Torregrosa — handled his registration without informing him that a different name was used.

Torregrosa testified that he first met Hernandez and other DPWH personnel inside the casino and was told they were contractors and cockfighters.

“Ang pagkakasabi po sa amin, sila ay mga sabungero at mga kontratista,” he said.

(We were told they were cockfighters and contractors.)

He said he explained the perks of casino membership, such as free food, drinks, and hotel rooms, and encouraged them to sign up to maximize those benefits.—AOL, GMA Integrated News