PAGCOR flagged for tapping third-party POGO auditor with ‘spurious’ documents

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Monday flagged the billion-peso contract entered by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) with a third-party auditor, which was alleged to have been awarded the contract based on spurious bank certifications.

During a hearing of the Senate Committees on Ways and Means and Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, Gatchalian said the PAGCOR may have been duped by the third-party auditor Global ComRCI which was tasked to assess Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).

“The bottom line is, based on the documents and all of that, the bottom line is the third-party auditor is not credible, not capable,” Gatchalian said.

“The third-party auditor is not qualified. Simple things like address and business permit, wala sila, so how do you expect us, the Filipino people, to believe that what they are supplying us in the form of information is accurate?” he added.

Gatchalian cited what he described as a “spurious” bank certificate issued by a certain Soleil Chartered Bank, which indicated that Global ComRCI was compliant with the requirements to serve as the PAGCOR’s POGO Consultant.

The lawmaker noted that PAGCOR did not check on the supposed bank entity through visits to its office or certifications with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), and just relied on the documents submitted by the auditor.

“You never went to their office, you never checked with the BSP, but yet you took their word for it. So wala silang (they do not have) capital, ‘yung kanilang (their) bank certification is spurious, so pano sila naging (how did they become) compliant sa (with the) TOR of 1 billion (pesos)?” Gatchalian said.

Global ComRCI was awarded a 10-year contract by the PAGCOR as early as 2017, which is mandated to regulate the gaming industry and generate revenues for the Philippine government’s socio-civic and national development programs and help promote the tourism industry.

“For the last five years, you never endeavored to verify and yet you signed a contract with them worth how much for the next 10 years? 6 billion?” Gatchalian told representatives of PAGCOR during the hearing.

“This contract is 6-billion worth for the next 10 years and they were awarded the contract based on a spurious bank certification issued by an entity not registered with BSP,” he added.

For its part, PAGCOR, through its chief legal counsel Atty. Roderick Consolacion, said the agency will look into the bank certification.

“We will look into this document and perhaps you can establish, we can ask their comment on this. We (will) look into this document and if we can ask their comment on this document, if only Global RCI are here,” he said during the same hearing.

In a separate interview, Gatchalian said the Senate requested representatives of the firm to be present, but none attended the hearing.

Consolacion said PAGCOR is also seeking a refund of $7.982 million from Global ComRCI, as indicated in a letter to the company dated December 20, 2022, which it received on January 18, 2023.

“Because of the amendment to the contract that they should not receive payment unless they exceeded the threshold set by PAGCOR, so this is based on their performance,” he said. 

GMA News Online had sought comment from Global ComRCI and Soleil Chartered Bank but neither had responded as of posting time. — DVM, GMA Integrated News