Alejandro Tengco is the Chair of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation. He has welcomed the charges leveled against him and nine other individuals over the apparent disappearance of PHP75m in performance-related bonds.
Tengo, following a series media reports in the local area, said that he had accepted the filing of criminal charges against an eSabong (cockfighting company) for malversation, theft, and falsification.
Joaquin Si, Chairman of the Board and chief finance officer of Kamura Highlands Gaming and Holdings filed the case, claiming that he personally paid the bond in PAGCOR Manila.
He said that these were paid for by two manager’s checks, drawn from his own account. Official receipts and documents were allegedly issued.
It is said that complications arose after President Rodrigo Duterte halted e-sabong operation. Sy then noted that he had written to former PAGCOR chief Andrea Domingo asking for the bond’s removal.
Sy said that he had repeatedly followed up on his request but to no avail up until July 20, 2023.
He said he later learned that the same amount of money had been paid to another person by a check, and that it had been cashed immediately.
Sy claims that the cash released was illegal and that accounting rules dictate that the original copies of the receipts be returned.
Tengco stated that he would take the allegations seriously and pursue an investigation against himself, despite that the alleged illegal acts occurred during the tenure of the previous Chief.
Tengco stated, “While it is strange that we were included in these alleged charges, despite this, we will conduct our own investigation to determine what actually happened and bring perpetrators of any anomaly to justice.” This is an opportunity to find out the truth and determine responsibility, Tengco said.
Carmen Pedrosa Reynaldo Condoc James Patrick Bondoc, and Dianne Ericajogno are among the others charged with Tengco, Domingo e Gabriel Claudio.
Tengco said, “We’ve launched an internal inquiry and are trying to recreate what happened since the department that was allegedly involved in the incident, the eSabong licensing division, has been disbanded.”
“The former President Duterte banned eSabong in May of 2022. Since then, the staff in the eSabong licensing unit have been transferred to other units. Now we are trying retrace this supposed anomalous transaction.
The public can be assured that, even though this occurred before we joined PAGCOR we will investigate the matter and respond to any accusations made against us once we have received a copy from the Ombudsman.
