Officials and employees of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) had no additional benefits in 2017 as they only continued the practice enjoyed by the agency’s previous administration, Pagcor chair Andrea Domingo said Friday.
“Wala kaming karagdagang benepisyo. Ni-retain lang namin kung ano ‘yung pinaiiral noong mga nakaraang administrasyon,” Domingo said in an interview with dzMM.
(We don’t have additional benefits. We just retained what was practiced in previous administrations.)
“Wala kaming idinagdag kahit isang benepisyo (We did not add even a single benefit),” she also stressed.
COA recently flagged Pagcor for the P334.8 million worth of perks allegedly given to its officials and employees last year. It also reportedly recorded an under-remittance of P22 billion to the government.
Longtime employees were also allegedly given hefty cash awards and gold “memento” rings, the COA report noted.
READ: COA questions P334M in Pagcor perks
Domingo admitted that when she assumed her post, she was not able to check if the current benefits of Pagcor workers were approved by the COA.
“Pag-upo mo doon, trabaho ka na eh (When you assume office, you work immediately),” she said.
She also questioned why the COA only asked about the benefits now.
“Ngayon lamang nila pinuna ‘yan. Bakit ngayon? Bakit hindi noong mga nakaraan?” Domingo said.
(They only noticed that now. Why now? Why not in the past?)
The Pagcor chief, however, said the agency takes the COA scrutiny “positively” despite denying its findings of alleged irregularity in the benefits of Pagcor officials and employees. /kga