Colmenares said among the among their complaints was PAGCOR‘s non-payment of P5.14B tax.
Worse, he said, PAGCOR paid for the income tax of big time casinos like Travellers International Hotel Groups, Inc., MCE Leisure (Philippines) Corporation, Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc. and Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment, Inc.
This is against its mandate “to help the poor and the needy,” he said.
Aquino said he won’t lose sleep if Wynn, whose intra-corporate fight with his partner, Kazuo Okada, exposed the bribes showered by the latter to officials of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation including the current chair, Cristino Naguiat, Jr., does not invest in the Philippines because there’s a long list of foreign investors interested to come.
Aquino preferred to play blind to the issue of unabated corruption raised in the investigation report made by former Federal Bureau of Investigation Louis Freeh commissioned by Wynn Resorts such as, despite his anti-corruption agenda, “Official corruption in the Philippine gaming industry is ‘deeply ingrained.’
Click here for Wynn’ suit vs Okada
Of course, Aquino later asked Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. to investigate allegations of breathtaking gifts showered by Okada, whose Universal Entertainment Corp is building a casino at the reclaimed Manila Bay area, to Naguiat whom Aquino has appointed chairman ang chief operating officer of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation.
PAGCOR regulates and operates casinos in the country.
Mabuti naman at nagresign raw si Efraim Genuino bilang chairman ng Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation o PAGCOR na magiging epektibo sa Hunyo 30.
Natablan na rin.
Nagulat ang sambayanang Pilipino ng madiskubre pagkatapos ng eleksyun na itinalaga pala ni Gloria Arroyo si Genuino noong Marso 9 na
chairman hanggang 2011 kasama ang apat pa na miyembro ng board.
Marami ang naniniwala na lampas ng Marso 10 ang pagtalaga kina Genuino ngunit pineke lang ang petsa ng appointment para maka-iwas sa pagbabawal ng batas.
Last week, my friends and I were talking about how the grim predictions about the May 10 elections were proven wrong.
I asked, “Were we wrong about Gloria Arroyo? ”
I asked that because we all believed that she would do everything to hold on to power beyond June 2010 including cause a failure of election.
Our paranoia was not unfounded. We have seen Malacañang’s efforts to change the Constitution to remove the term limit that prohibits Arroyo from staying on to power. There was an attempt to change the form of government from presidential to parliamentary that would have qualified Arroyo to stay on as prime minister.
Update:
1. http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/05/29/10/palace-defends-midnight-reappointments-pagcor
2. http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/nation/05/29/10/bernas-hits-midnight-appointments-pagcor-officers
Itong midnight appointment ni Efraim Genuino sa Pagcor ay nagpapahiwatig na hindi talaga bibitaw si Gloria Arroyo sa kapangyarihan. May binabalak siyang hindi maganda.
Kung akala natin ang appointment ni Renato Corona bilang Supreme Court chief justice ay ang malaking problema na kailangan resolbahin ng susunod na pangulo na si Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, mas madugo itong sa Pagcor. Bilyunes yata ang nakataya dito.
Ang ibig sabihin ng Pagcor ay Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation na siyang nangangasiwa ng lahat na pasugalan sa buong bansa. Ang malaking parte ng kita ng Pagcor ay pumupunta sa Presidential Social Fund kung saan malawak ang kalayaan ng isang pangulo kung paano gamiting ang pera.
Another past-midnight appointment
From ABS-CBN:
President Gloria Macapagal has re-appointed her close ally Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) Chairman Efraim Genuino as well as 4 members of its board of directors.
Genuino said he accepted his re-appointment, confirming a document obtained by ABS-CBN News that he had been re-appointed for another 1-year term.
Others who were re-appointed, based on the document from the Office of the Executive Secretary dated March 9, were Rafael Francisco, Philip Lo, Manuel C. Roxas and Ester Alano Laconico-Feria.