Archbishop exposes gambling corruption
Manila (AsiaNews) - Archbishop Oscar Cruz of Lingayen-Dagupan, who staunchly opposes legal and illegal gambling, urged the government today to abolish its agency, the Philippine Amusement and Games Corporation (PAGCOR), handing over an expose' of documented questionable accounting practices to Plunder Watch, an organization which monitors questionable government transactions .
"We will study the documents, to see if government officials will be charged with plunder, graft and corruption and/or mismanagement," Carol Araullo of Plunder Watch told AsiaNews.
One of the documents shows that PAGCOR has spent 26.1 million pesos for new vehicles for its 13 officials.
Presently the PAGCOR manages 15 casinos and 9 slot machine arcades around the country but 10 more casinos and 7 slot machine arcades are slated to be established in the near future. It is this government flagship agency that cashes in thousands of money daily from its clients, which also include government officials- as was the case with former President Joseph Estrada. Because some of PAGCOR's partners are Hong Kong-based and Macau-based gambling tycoon Stanley Ho is behind them, Archbishop Cruz fears that Ho, with the help of an unnamed powerful person, is behind the mushrooming of casinos in the country.
Four years ago, Ho, a friend of former President Estrada, brought a floating gambling casino/restaurant to Manila but was not allowed to open it due to protests from civil society and the Church.
Despite all these financial gains, Mons. Cruz points out, PAGCOR owes several business institutions 1.7 billion pesos since March 2004. The loans were made shortly before the official campaign period in February 2004 until March.
Unlike other government agencies whose accounting books are audited by the Commission on Audit, only the chairman of PAGCOR can audit the corporation, Araullo said. It is possible that a missing 1.7 billion pesos are financing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's re-election campaign. Likewise, supporters of other presidential candidates make similar claims, that the president is using government funds, including those sourced from overseas workers, for her campaign machinery.
Though there have been reports of a meeting between Stanley Ho and President Macapagal-Arroyo last month, this was denied by the government. "But we have witnesses of this meeting," Araullo told AsiaNews. The PAGCOR agency, which manages the casinos and slot-machine arcades around the country, "breeds more gambling addicts to pocket more money for dubious purposes," the Archbishop said during a press conference today.
"The existence, management and operation of PAGCOR cannot be the basis of good governance, cannot be the foundation of a strong republic, cannot be the hope of the Filipinos or a better future." Like an octopus, the Games' corporation "spreads its sucking tentacles, reaches out at all potential gamblers all over the country, " he elaborated.
Regarding the elusive 1.7 billion pesos, the Archbishop could only say, "Where the money went, heaven only knows."
(S.E.)
.png)
