Palace won’t ask Pagcor chief to resign

MANILA, Philippines – The Aquino administration will not heed calls for its embattled gambling regulator to resign amid allegations that improper gifts were received from a foreign firm under its watch.

In an interview with radio dzBB on Sunday, February 26, deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said it is up to Philippine Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) chairman Cristino Naguiat Jr. to resign or go on leave while the Palace is investigating bribery allegations that have been cited in a US court filing and in global news.

“We leave it to the discretion of that official to take the call for resignation or for a voluntary leave. So bahala na po si Chairman Naguiat diyan kung ano po ‘yung magiging response niya sa mga panawagang ito (It’s up to Pagcor chair Naguiat to respond to these calls),” Valte replied.

Valte was asked about Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz’s call for Naguiat to resign after he confirmed a Nevada case filing that he and his family availed of free 4-night stay at a $6,000-a-night suite at Wynn Macau in September 2010.

On Friday, the Palace said it will form a group that will investigate the bribery allegations.

President Aquino and Naguiat are close friends and classmates at the Ateneo de Manila University. The Palace has been issuing positions favorable to Naguiat since the suit in the US became public on Sunday, February 19.  

Bribery and ethics

Naguiat had said that he is a mere collateral damage in the corporate fight between two casino tycoons – Steve Wynn and Kazuo Okada.

The $110,000 costs of accommodating Filipino regulators and their family members in Wynn’s posh hotels in Las Vegas and Macau are at the core of the case filed by Wynn against Okada before the Nevada court.

Wynn, citing a year-long investigation by an ex-Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) director, said Okada violated the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bans US firms from bribing regulators in governments they are pursuing or would like to keep existing businesses with.

Filipino officials, on the other hand, are barred by an Ethical Code from accepting gifts from entities or individuals that are doing business with the government.

Okada’s Universal Entertainment is one of the 4 private firms granted a provisional license to develop and build on the upcoming Bagong Nayong Pilipino – Entertainment City, which is poised to be another Las Vegas-like casino-entertainment complex in Asia.

It will compete with Wynn’s main cash cow–the casino in Macau. – Rappler.com