Multi-million peso thievery in PAGCOR
Another milking cow of the ruling classes has gone bankrupt after being plundered by the current regime. The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is now saddled with a P1.4 billion debt.
PAGCOR should not be in hock because of the amount of money that pours into its coffers. But its officials' extravagant lifestyle, the bloated number of superfluous officials and employees brought in and corruption diguised as donations have plunged the corporation deep in debt.
It is from PAGCOR that Malaca�ang sources funds for supposed projects of the president and other government agencies. It is also one of the principal fund sources for the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Philippine Sports Commission. Because of the enormity of its funds and the corporation's relative laxity in providing financial assistance and doleouts, it has become a traditional milking cow for all reactionary regimes. Besides, PAGCOR is exempted from scrutiny by the Commission on Audit.
Thus, one of Arroyo's first measures shortly after assuming power was to appoint to PAGCOR Ephraim Genuino, a loyal and reliable operator of the Arroyo family, as well as other officials close to First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and their front party, Bigkis Pinoy.
Genuino immediately brought into PAGCOR 2,000 employees and over a hundred consultants, including a number of journalists. They began drawing monthly salaries ranging from P10,000 to P50,000 a month. The consultants' combined monthly salaries came to P2.5 million. In addition, PAGCOR's expenses for "bonuses and other benefits" ballooned from P18 million in 2000 to P86 million in 2002.
Aside from this, since 2001, PAGCOR has spent P120 million on a hundred additional luxury vehicles. The agency's heads shamelessly provided themselves "benefits" to buy expensive cars. As head of PAGCOR, Genuino was allowed to purchase a P2.5 million car while board members were each allowed cars worth P2 million.
Genuino attempted to cover up this anomaly by preventing its exposure in the media. An expos� by the television program Probe Team was put on hold after the regime threatened to withdraw all government commercials from GMA-7 that would have meant a 6% reduction in the station's revenues. The Probe Team's report was aired only several weeks later, after other media people and many citizens rose in protest against the muzzling of press freedom.
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