House probe set on Malaysian firm’s P8.3-billion PCSO deal

MANILA, Philippines — An administration congressman has filed a resolution in the House of Representatives that seeks to investigate a Malaysian firm’s P8.3-billion lottery system contract with the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

House Resolution 359, authored by Ang Probinsiyano party-list Rep. Ronnie Ong, questioned Kuala Lumpur’s Berjaya Corp. and Pacific Online Systems Corp. (Pacific Online) for its National Online Lottery System (NOLS) with the charity organization’s contract.

The congressman disclosed that PCSO forged an agreement with the Philippine Gaming Management Corp. (PGMC) that is under Malaysia, and rented out lottery equipment even if there was no need for such.

Ong, vice chairman of the House committee on games and amusements, questioned how PGMC-Berjaya and Pacific Online have managed to secure and keep their Equipment Lease Agreements (ELA) with the PCSO for the past 24 years despite various irregularities.

He cited a 2011 report of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, questioning the terminal lease.

“It was found out that PCSO was renting equipment from PGMC-Berjaya for $148 million when it can buy the same equipment for $25 million,” he pointed out, noting that lease of lotto terminals for the operation of online lottery in Luzon was unnecessary.

Ong said no less than the Senate said the deal was “disadvantageous to the government.”

The legislator said he was also surprised that PCSO’s ELA was extended from Aug. 2015 to 2018, even if the revenue-generating agency was already sued by Berjaya in a “costly and expensive legal battle.”

And even if PGMC-Berjaya succeeded in winning an injunction in 2017 stopping the PCSO from bidding its P10.9 billion NOLS, the government agency still continuously paid millions to PGMC-Berjaya in its rental fees.

“We’re paying them so much money so they can sue us. We have to fight this kind of abuse,” Ong said.