SCAFFOLD 2-GRAFT AND

CORRUPTION

Nicolo John B. David

X-CHARITY  
Ex-Pagcor chair, 10
others face plunder,
graft charges
By: Marlon Ramos - Reporter / @MRamosINQ
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 02:22 AM October 25, 2016

WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘NONEXISTENT’? Former Pagcor chief Cristino Naguiat Jr. says
the project is “aboveboard” and “will save the agency millions of pesos.”

An anticrime group on Monday brought plunder and graft charges in the

Department of Justice against former Philippine Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) chair Cristino
Naguiat Jr. and 10 others in connection with alleged irregular payment of P234
million in rental fees to a private company for a “nonexistent” property last year.
Naguiat, a trusted friend of former President Benigno Aquino III, initiated the filing
of several criminal cases against his predecessor, Efraim Genuino, after he was
named to head the state-owned gaming company in 2010. Now, he and several
former Pagcor officials are the ones on the receiving end.

Accused
Besides Naguiat, also named respondents in the complaint filed by the Volunteers
Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) were former Pagcor president Jorge
Sarmiento, Jose Tanjuatco, Enriquito Nuguid, Eugene Manalastas, Milagros Pauline
Visque, Ramon Jose Jones, Romeo Cruz Jr., Annalyn Zoglmann and Kathleen
Delantar. Manuel Sy, owner of Vanderwood Management Corp. (VMC), which leased
a 6,500-square-meter lot to Pagcor for P13 million a month, was named private
respondent in the complaint. In an eight-page complaint, VACC founding chair Dante
Jimenez and board member Arsenio Evangelista said Naguiat and the others
conspired with one another to hoodwink the government by entering into a
fraudulent agreement with VMC. “Public money was paid by [the former Pagcor
officials] to respondent VMC for nothing. This is indubitably a raid on the public
treasury,” the VACC complaint said. “All told, conspiracy among the respondents was
established beyond a shadow of doubt,” it said. “[They] acquired ill-gotten wealth
through malversation of public funds and raid on the public treasury, and by taking
advantage of their official positions,” it added.

Surprise approval
According to Jimenez and Evangelista, the Pagcor board of directors headed by
Naguiat “surprisingly” approved the 15-year lease contract between the state-run
gaming company and VMC on March 24, 2015, hours after Pagcor’s bids and awards
committee granted it to VMC. They said the former Pagcor officials also immediately
approved the release to VMC of P156 million in advance rental payment for 12
months and a deposit of P78 million. Citing the audit report of the Commission on
Audit, the VACC said the property, which Pagcor planned to use to build a casino,
was actually owned by the Manila city government and was leased to Oceanville
Hotel and Spa Corp. “The subject lease contract was void [from the start] because its
object, which was the building space intended for the casino … was nonexistent at
the time of its execution,” the VACC said.

Project ‘aboveboard’
When reached for comment, Naguiat said he disagreed with the use of the term
“nonexistent” to describe the project and put it in bad light. He said there were no
other existing structures that met Pagcor’s specifications for the project, hence the
need to build one. “This project is aboveboard. It will save the agency millions of
pesos, and the new management knows this,” Naguiat said in a phone interview. He
explained that once Pagcor decided to move its existing casino out of the Gatchalian
family-owned Waterfront Manila Pavilion Hotel, VMC agreed to build a structure for
it according to the gaming company’s requirements.
Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/831525/ex-pagcor-chair-10-others-face-
plunder-graft-charges#ixzz4vwWnwI72 

Kaso Sangkot Dahilan Epekto Parusa

(b) Directly or indirectly
requesting or receiving
any gift, present, share
or percentage, or
benefit, for himself or for
any other person, in
connection with any
contract or transaction
between the Gov’t and
any other part, wherein
the public officer in his
official capacity has to
intervene under the law.
(g) Entering, on behalf of
the Government, into
any contract or
transaction manifestly
and grossly
disadvantageous to the
same, whether or not the
public officer profited or
will profit thereby.
(i) Directly or indirectly
becoming interested, for
personal gain, or having
a material interest in any
transaction or act
requiring the approval of
a board, panel or group
of which he is a member,
and which exercises
discretion in such
approval, even if he
votes against the same
or does not participate in
the action of the board,
committee, panel or
group. Interest for
Ang mga 1.) Nilabag nila ang Dahil sa ginawa Ang maaaring
sangkot dito ay (b) dahil sila ay nilang pagnanakaw maging parusa sa
and dating inakusahan at ng pera ng bayan, mga tiwaling opisyal
Philippine sinasabing nag maraming na napatunayang
Gaming Corp. kamal ng pera proyektong kapani- nagsagawa ng
(Pagcor) chair ng gobyerno pakinabang ang plunder ay
Cristino Naguiat dahil sa ilegal na maaaring mawalan “Reclusion Perpetua”
Jr., ang dating transaksiyon nila ng pera dahil sa o ang pagkakulong
Pagcor president sa Vanderwood kakulangan ng ng hanggang 40 na
Jorge Sarmiento, Management badyet ng Gobyerno. taon. Ayon sa
Jose Tanjuatco, Corp. na isang Dahil rin sa Revised Penal Code,
Enriquito pribadong pagnanakaw nila ng kung mayroon pang
Nuguid, Eugene institusyon. pera, mawawalan mga “aggravating”
Manalastas, 2.) Nilabag naman na ng tiwala ang cases ng plunder ay
Milagros Pauline nila ang (g) dahil mga tao sa mga maaaring patawan
Visque, Ramon pumasok sila sa kawani ng PAGCOR ng death penalty.
Jose Jones, isang dahil sa pagging Ang death penalty sa
Romeo Cruz Jr., transaksiyong ‘corrupt’ ng mga Pilipinas ay hindi
Annalyn ilegal na kung matataas na pinuno tinanggal bilang
Zoglmann, saan alam nila nito. Ang parusa ngunit kahit
Kathleen Delanta ang mga pagnanakaw na ito pa man mapatawan
at si Manuel Sy. maaaring ay maaaring maging ka nito ay wala na
mangyari sa sanhi ng pag bagal itong bisa o hindi na
kanila kung ng ekonomiya ng ito isinasagawa.
ipagpapatuloy Pilipinas dahil sa Kaya naman ang
nila ito, at sila ay kakulangan ng katumbas nito ay
patuloy na nag badyet ng Gobyerno. ang habang buhay
nakaw sa kaban Maraming na pagkakulong.
ng bayan. mamamayan ang
3.) Nilabag nila ang lalo pang mag
(i) dahil pumasok hihirap at
sila sa isang mahihirapan dahil sa
transaksiyong pagka ubos ng
nangangailanga badyet ng Gobyerno
n ng pag sang- para sa mga
ayon o desisyon proyektong mayroon
ng isang panel silang subsidy o kaya
na kung saan ay mga benepisyo.
 personal gain shall be ginamit nila ang Ang gobyerno ay
presumed against those kanilang mapeperwisyo dahil
public officers kapangyarihan sa pagkamal ng pera
responsible for the upang ng mga tiwaling
approval of manifestly magkamal ng opisyales na ito,
unlawful, inequitable, or pera ng bayan.
irregular transaction or
acts by the board, panel
or group to which they
belong.