Spurious document used to allow Pagcor game in Baguio, says exec

BAGUIO CITY—A document signed by city officials, and endorsed by Mayor Mauricio Domogan, supposedly shows that Baguio had not objected to the opening of an electronic bingo parlor of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) in the summer capital last year.

Except that the document misrepresented the city government’s position, local officials said on Monday.

Vice Mayor Edison Bilog revealed what he described as a “fake” resolution dated March 25, 2014, which showed that the city had no objection to the operations of an electronic bingo outlet by a Laguna-based gaming company.

Citing the document, Domogan had written Pagcor chair Cristino Naguiat Jr. on April 14, 2014 and endorsed the company’s application to operate e-bingo in Baguio, according to another document.

The resolution and Domogan’s letter were attached to the business permit issued by the city government to the e-bingo operator last year.

Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda, in a draft resolution she filed on Jan. 22, sought to stop the city licensing office and the city treasurer from renewing the business permit of the operator because of this anomaly.

Tabanda said the company attached a resolution that was never approved in the city council, stressing that it could not have been passed on March 25, 2014, a Tuesday. The city council holds its regular sessions on Mondays.

Councilor Richard Cariño said the disputed document was a proposed resolution that never got off the ground.

Bilog said Pagcor requires e-bingo operators to secure a certificate indicating that a community does not object to the gaming operation before it allows them to proceed.

The Pagcor procedure, however, allows gaming applicants to attach forms of certificates of no objections from communities in place of actual certifications.

The documents are accepted if these are “duly received by the council.”

But Bilog said Domogan was misled into believing the March 25, 2014 resolution was authentic.

‘Misrepresentation’

Bilog said his signature in the document was forged.

Bilog, at the time, was a councilor. He replaced the late Vice Mayor Daniel Fariñas who died last year.

However, two other e-bingo companies have been allowed to operate electronic parlors in Baguio without securing the same document, he said.

Bilog said the council would alert Pagcor about the “misrepresentation.”

The Inquirer on Monday was able to reach the Laguna-based company’s representative who applied for the business permit, but a bad connection prevented several telephone calls from being completed. The representative did not respond to text messages.

The Catholic Church in Baguio has been campaigning against all forms of gambling, and had objected to the opening of e-bingo parlors here, which the city government investigated on Jan. 12. Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon