DOJ, PAGCOR sign pact to curb officials’ presence in gambling venues

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and its attached agencies signed an agreement with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to share employee information, in order to help prevent government workers from going to gambling venues.

Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida, PAGCOR Chairperson Alejandro Tengco, Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado, and Corrections Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. were among those who signed the agreement.

Vida said the agencies will share employees’ names and photos to strengthen monitoring and enforcement.

“By enabling a more efficient and accurate identification system, we strengthen enforcement mechanisms and ensure that policies are not only written, but meaningfully implemented,” he said.

According to the DOJ, Presidential Decree No. 1869 or the PAGCOR Charter, as well as Memorandum Circular No. 6, series of 2016, prohibit government officials from participating in gambling casinos.

Vida said personnel caught violating the rules may face dismissal.

“For immediate dismissal. ‘Yun yung immediate, relative to their employment as a government employee. Immediate dismissal ‘yun. ‘Yun ang nakalagay sa executive order, sa presidential decree,” he said.

(For immediate dismissal. That is immediate, relative to their employment as a government employee. It is immediate dismissal. That is what is stated in the executive order and the presidential decree.)

He added that the imposition of administrative sanctions is without prejudice to the filing of criminal charges.

“It’s a message for all of us to toe the line. We are here as public servants. We need not only to do good, but to act as role models, 'di ba? We follow the rule of law. Bawal ang taong gobyerno sa casino, tuparin natin ito,” Vida said.

(This is a reminder for all of us to toe the line. We are public servants. We must not only do good but also act as role models. We follow the rule of law. Government employees are prohibited from going to casinos; let us comply.)

Vida said the DOJ will initially share the profiles of around 6,000 employees, with the number potentially rising to as many as 50,000 if attached agencies are included.

Vida said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) was not yet included in the signing as the DOJ was still ironing out some issues pertaining to its involvement in law enforcement operations at gaming venues.

The DOJ chief said NBI Director Melvin Matibag will sign the MOA at a later date.

"We are filtering because some of our agents are doing confidential work. There may be ongoing operations," he said.

"We need to sort that out. In our discussion with the director, for administrative personnel and those not doing confidential work in the NBI, we will immediately share their data," he said.

"For confidential agents, we may need to find ways to filter the information, but that will involve only a smaller group," he added.

For his part, Tengco said PAGCOR previously faced difficulties as some agencies declined to disclose personnel information, citing the Data Privacy Act.

“Sa amin po, napakaganda po ng programang ito dahil pinagkakaloob sa amin mismo. Kung kami ay nahihirapan, iisa lang po ang dahilan, dahil karamihan ay ini-invoke ang Data Privacy Act,” he said.

(For us, this program is very beneficial because the information is provided directly to us. If we face difficulties, it is mainly because many invoke the Data Privacy Act.)

Tengco also assured that employee data shared with PAGCOR will be properly protected.

“We are committed that whatever information you will hand to us, we will ensure that it is kept properly,” he said.—MCG, GMA Integrated News