Senate Blue Ribbon probe sought into Pagcor’s POGO auditor
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian has asked the Blue Ribbon panel to investigate the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.’s “seemingly anomalous” engagement of a third-party auditor for offshore gaming companies.
Gatchalian on Monday filed Senate Resolution 452 calling for a Blue Ribbon probe into the procurement of Global ComRCI Consortium, which was found during a previous Senate hearing to be lacking permits and of having presented dubious documents.
Among the red flags seen by senators during the hearing that Gatchalian presided was the certification that Global ComRCI presented was issued by a bank not registered with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
The joint venture was also not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and did not meet the requirements specified in the terms of reference for the engagement of a third-party auditor.
The office of Global ComRCI could also not be located.
In his resolution, Gatchalian said it is important for the Blue Ribbon panel to investigate this as it involved the payment of almost P6 billion to Global ComRCI.
“This seemingly anomalous government procurement and public expenditure must be examined and accounted for with zeal and vigor in order to maintain the trust and confidence of the people to the government,” he said.
He added that Global ComRCI’s “lack of technical capability” and “consequent failure” to determine the gross gaming revenues from Philippine offshore gaming operators could lead to the underpayment of franchise fees and gaming taxes. — Xave Gregorio
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