Partylist lawmaker presses Pagcor to bare details of P1.8-B paper deal

MANILA, Philippines—A lawmaker on Monday questioned the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) for failing to make public the details of the P1.8 billion paper deal for slot machines.

In a statement to reporters, Agham Representative Angelo Palmones said Pagcor’s denial on the issue was not enough.

“They need to release the documents about the deal,” he said.

Agham party-list Representative Angelo Palmones. Photo from congress.gov.ph

“Just when I revealed the transaction to the media that was only when they answered. There is no courtesy of even replying to my queries,” Palmones added.

Earlier, he called on the government to scrap the deal.

Pagcor, the largest contributor of revenues for the government, operates some 8,000 slot machines in its 13 casinos and several VIP slot clubs in major cities across the country.  It operates the Airport Casino in Paranaque City, Casino Filipino Heritage in Pasay City, in Hyatt Hotel in Manila, Casino Filipino Pavillion in Waterfront Manila, and casinos in Angeles City, Laoag City, Mimosa, Olongapo, Tagaytay, Bacolod, Cebu, Davao and in Mactan.

He said the deal is no longer necessary because it is already out of date.

Pagcor earlier said the deal would cost the government P516.6 million.

“My computations may be wrong but we are still talking about millions of money,” he said adding that he based his computations only on available documents.