Ex-Pagcor chair, 10 others charged with P234-M plunder

MANILA, Philippines - Plunder and graft charges were filed yesterday against former Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) chairman Cristino Naguiat and 10 others in connection with an allegedly anomalous lease deal with a private company.

Aside from Naguiat, respondents named in the case filed before the Department of Justice were former Pagcor president and chief operating officer Jorge Sarmiento; former board members Jose Tanjuatco, Enriguito Nuguid and Eugene Manalastas, bids and awards committee (BAC) members Milagros Pauline Visque, Ramon Jose Jones, Romeo Cruz Jr., Annalyn Zoglmann and Kathleen Delantar, and Vanderwood Management Corp. (VMC) president Manuel Sy.

The case stemmed from the disbursement of P234 million in public funds as payment to VMC for the lease of a property in Manila that would be used for a casino gaming facility.

Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption chairman Dante Jimenez and president Arsenio Evangelista said the P234 million represented payments for the first 18 months of the 15-year lease contract, which had a total amount of P3.2 billion.

Despite declaring the September 2014 bidding a failure since only one bid was submitted, the BAC on Dec. 10 allegedly granted VMC’s motion for reconsideration and awarded the contract to the company.

The Commission on Audit (COA) found the lease contract irregular and anomalous, as the subject property is owned by the city government of Manila and not by VMC.

The property, located along Roxas Boulevard, has reportedly been leased by the city government to Oceanville Hotel and Spa Corp. since January 2014.