Pagcor head told: Explain in writing bribery rap

Pagcor chairman Cristino Naguiat Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

His explanation to the media that he returned a Chanel bag meant for his wife and that it was an industry practice to provide free accommodations to visiting gaming executives appears not to be enough.

President Benigno Aquino III has asked Cristino Naguiat Jr., chair of state-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), to explain in writing his entanglement in a bribery case in the United States against a Japanese businessman, Malacañang on Thursday said.

Naguiat and former Pagcor chairman Ephraim Genuino were identified in a lawsuit filed by an American gambling firm in a district court in Las Vegas as the two Pagcor executives for whom Kazuo Okada had spent $110,000 to curry favor with them.

Asked if Naguiat would be issued a formal memorandum the way Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Ronald Llamas had been asked to explain his purchase of P2,000 worth of pirated DVDs, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said, “(The President) has asked for an extended briefer on the matter and we will take it from there.”

Lacierda said at a news briefing in Malacañang that “(Mr. Aquino) had not received the briefer yet but had spoken to Chairman Naguiat.”

Classmate

A close friend of Mr. Aquino, Naguiat is one of the President’s classmates at the Ateneo de Manila University, whom he had appointed to posts under his administration.

Wynn Resorts chief executive Steve Wynn accused Okada of violating the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act through alleged payoffs made to the two Philippine gaming officials.

Okada, a director at Wynn Resorts, was alleged to have gone behind the back of the company to develop a business for his own Universal Entertainment Group in the Philippines.

Casino’s best butler

In Naguiat’s case, the lawsuit said that he, his wife, three children and nanny received free accommodations at a luxury suite in Wynn Macau, that they were assigned the casino’s best butler and that he requested and received a $1,878 Chanel designer bag for his wife.

Genuino’s trip

The suit also claimed that Okada spent $50,000 on Naguiat’s visit in September 2010, including $20,000 in cash given to the Filipino delegation for shopping and gaming.

Okada told Wynn investigators that he had paid for Genuino’s trip to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics.

Naguait on Wednesday said that he did not receive the Chanel bag for his wife. The Pagcor chairman said he had casually told one of Okada’s aides that he wanted to surprise his wife with a Chanel bag and was surprised to find one delivered to his room later.

“Maybe the staffer was just trying to impress his guests. In any case, I returned the bag immediately,” Naguiat said.

Nothing irregular

Even before Naguiat could submit his explanation, Lacierda said there was nothing irregular with the Pagcor chairman and his family’s free accommodations at a luxury suite in Macau.

“The investigation conducted by the private investigator showed some alleged anomalies but he failed to mention that Mr. Bong Naguiat was there not as a casino regulator but as a casino operator,” Lacierda said.

Lacierda said Naguiat went to Wynn Macau for a gaming convention of casino operators “and, if you know how it goes, casino operators are provided accommodations elsewhere.”

“If they come here as casino operators, the casino operators are also given the same accommodations. There is no ethical violation because he was there as a casino operator and not as casino regulator,” Lacierda said.

Licenses

Okada’s Universal Entertainment was one of the four groups awarded licenses in 2008 during the incumbency of Genuino to build a hotel resort complex in the 12-hectare Pagcor Entertainment City on Manila Bay. Universal Entertainment broke ground on January 26 for its Manila Bay Resorts casino.

“Again, (Naguiat) couldn’t go there as a casino regulator because the provisional agreement was already signed in 2008 and he was there talking to several casino operators,” said the presidential spokesperson.

Lacierda noted that Pagcor was operating several casinos “so he (Naguiat) was there as a casino operator.”

“The impression being laid down just because he was given accommodations is on the basis that he violated federal laws. But we have not seen any suit against Mr. Naguiat,” he said.

Collateral damage

Lacierda said the Philippines and Pagcor had become “collateral damage” as a result of the corporate battle between Wynn and Okada.

“This is a huge intracorporate controversy between Mr. Steve Wynn and Mr.  Okada. They are really trying to wrest control of the company,” Lacierda said.

Lacierda said this was the reason Wynn hired a private investigator, no less than a  former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to conduct a probe.

“On the other hand, Mr. Okada also filed a case over 1 billion Hong Kong dollars against Steve Wynn,” Lacierda said.

Okada, Wynn Resorts’s largest shareholder, sued the company in January for denying him information about a $135-million donation to the University of Macau. He called the donation inappropriate.

On Sunday, Wynn’s board voted to force out Okada and moved to redeem his 20-percent stake in the company at a huge discount and payable in 10 years.

“So obviously this is a fight between two gaming titans. The Philippines and Pagcor have become collateral damage,” Lacierda added.

Family accommodations

As for the family accommodations, Lacierda said Naguiat had paid for their air fare going to Macau.

“Chairman Naguiat wants to see his children, too. So what’s wrong with paying for the transportation expenses of the wife and the family? It was paid for by Mr. Naguiat,” he said.

Told that the free suite given to Naguiat as a casino operator of the Philippine government was also enjoyed by members of his family, Lacierda said, “Yes they stayed in the same room. They are a family.”

“Can you imagine if the wife and children stayed in another room of their own? They just stayed in the same room where Chairman Naguiat was,” Lacierda said.