An agreement between an e-Sabong operator and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) is coming back to haunt the gaming regulator. Some 10 people, including the current and former bosses, face charges of abuse of authority that will only increase state efforts to dismantle the regulator.
Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. Chairman Alejandro Tengco at his desk. He and other PAGCOR individuals face charges of graft tied to an e-Sabong operator’s bond. (Image: Reuters)
Among those named in the accusation, according to media outlet Philstar, are former PAGCOR board members Gabriel Claudio, Carmen Pedrosa, Reynaldo Concordia and James Patrick Bondoc. These follow former PAGCOR head Andrea Domingo, current boss Alejandro Tengco, and Tengco’s chief of staff, Dianne Erica Jogno.
At the center of the scandal is a payment of a PHP75 million (US$1.32 million) bond Kamura Highlands Gaming and Holdings Inc. handed over to the regulator. The company paid the bond in order to operate a business involving e-Sabong, or online betting on cockfights.
That was before the Philippines pulled the plug on e-Sabong in the wake of criminal activity involving police officers, and at least one person trying to sell her baby to pay off her e-Sabong debt. When Kamura requested repayment of the bond, it found out that the money no longer existed.
Without a Trace
As soon as the Philippines cut off e-Sabong, Joaquin Sy, Kamura’s chairman and lead shareholder, contacted PAGCOR for the money. However, he reportedly never received a response.
Eventually, it surfaced that PAGCOR had given the money to someone else. For reasons that still have to be determined, then-PAGCOR chair Andrea Domingo allegedly gave it to someone by the name of Jewel Castro.
Shortly after receiving the money, Castro withdrew it from the bank account to which it had been deposited. Although Castro had ties to Kamura, the individual was reportedly neither a primary shareholder or a designated assignee.
As a result, Sy wants PAGCOR’s leadership to be held accountable. The 10 individuals face charges of graft for conducting possibly illegal transactions that may have benefited them personally.
Not Guilty as Charged
The transactions – the request for the bond’s return and the subsequent payment – all occurred under the old PAGCOR regime. However, Tengco appears in the complaint because he was coming in just as the money was making its way to Castro’s account.
While that might be enough to get him off the hook for graft, he faces other charges as well. Sy accuses him and Jogno of obstruction of justice in the complaint for allegedly covering up the issue. He also accuses them of not responding quickly to his initial request for clarification on the whereabouts of the bond.
Tengco, who took over as PAGCOR’s boss in August 2022, welcomes the charges, and is ready to support the case. He views the debacle as an opportunity to get to the bottom of what really happened, and to find out who, if anyone, may actually be guilty.
Pedrosa and Concordia passed away sometime between the request for reimbursement and the delivery of the funds.
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