Pagcor chief denies bribe offer from Lam
Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) chief Andrea Domingo admitted meeting with Macaubased gaming tycoon Jack Lam thrice, but denied being offered a bribe as claimed by Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II.
Speaking at the third hearing on the corruption scandal involving the Bureau of Immigration (BI) at the Senate yesterday, Domingo said she has never met retired police superintendent Wenceslao “Wally” Sombero, who serves as Lam’s middleman.
The Blue Ribbon committee cited Sombero for contempt
and moved to have his passport cancelled to force him to return to the country and face the inquiry.
The recommendation made by committee chairman Sen. Richard Gordon came after Sombero, who is reportedly in Canada, again failed to appear at yesterday’s hearing, citing health reasons.
Gordon said he would have Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III sign the contempt order today.
“I have to clear it first with the Senate President because he is the only one who can sign it,” Gordon told journalists after the hearing.
He said once the order is issued, Sombero’s passport would be automatically cancelled.
Domingo said she met Lam thrice in her office and that on all three occasions she was with her legal and technical staff.
She said the meetings were all about the operation of the Fontana Leisure Parks and Casino in Clark, Pampanga, particularly the fees Lam had been paying as a locator.
Pagcor had been negotiating with Lam, whose Jimei Group runs the Fontana Hot Springs Leisure Parks, to pay proper fees to the government in spite of the special rates guaranteed to his firm under the contract he signed during the term of the late president Corazon Aquino.
Domingo expressed belief the contract given to Lam was onerous, noting it has resulted in government losses amounting to P13.9 billion in potential revenues.
She said Lam enjoyed a highly preferential rate of one percent of gross revenues, which is paid to Pagcor.
Other casinos operating in Clark are required to pay 10 percent of gross revenues.
“These are not his debts but foregone revenues for the government because he has a contract that is very, I would think, onerous to the government,” Domingo said.
“There is a contract but we believe it is not a level playing field so we are appealing to his fairness since he has earned a lot from the Philippines already,” she added.
Domingo urged the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to look into the taxes paid by Lam based on the income his firm has generated over the years.
She said Pagcor is studying the possible revocation of Lam’s contract now that it has been established that he was engaged in illegal gambling operations.
Domingo said Lam could now be charged with harboring illegal aliens based on the discovery of over 1,000 illegally staying Chinese nationals in Fontana villas.
Lam had said he would fulfill his obligations to the government. Should Lam fail to settle his dues, Aguirre said the government would sequester his assets, which will be sold at auction.