House to probe gaming firm competing with gov’t lottery

THE HOUSE committee on games and amusement will expand its probe into alleged anomalies in the multibillion-peso Small Town Lottery (STL) to include Meridien Vista Gaming Corp. which operates the Virtual Two numbers game in head-on competition with franchise operators sanctioned by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

Committee vice chair and Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez said his committee would summon the owners and officers of Meridien Gaming to enlighten the lawmakers on how much they were making from the Virtual Two lottery game, which has become popular in at least 12 provinces, including Pangasinan, Cavite, Rizal, Oriental Mindoro and Bicol.

“We have received reports Meridien is lording it over in 12 to 14 provinces where the PCSO has been locked out of setting up an STL franchise…It is important that we know the details of their financial operations,” Fernandez said in a phone interview.

Meridien is a gaming company that operates a jai alai fronton in Sta. Ana, Cagayan, and whose franchise was granted by the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (Ceza) during the last years of the Arroyo administration.

The company was rumored to be owned by Charlie “Atong” Ang, the former gambling buddy of ousted President Joseph Estrada, but the company has denied it. Meridien said Ang was only an adviser during the fronton’s development stage.

Fernandez said he wanted to know who were the owners and operators of the company which has been the target of a petition for closure by the Games and Amusement Board, church leaders, the Department of Interior and Local Government, and the Department of Justice since 2011.

Case in limbo

Fernandez said that while the PCSO’s STL operations in 14 provinces had remitted P3.2 billion in annual revenues to the government in the last nine years, Meridien has paid zero-revenues to the government for its Virtual Two game largely because it is based in a free port whose perks include tax exemptions.

Fernandez noted that Meridien’s operations would have been shut down as far back as 2011 for operating outside the Ceza’s jurisdiction if not for a temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Supreme Court allowing it to continue operations outside Ceza’s boundaries.

“What is so special about Meridien that the high court is deciding on its case for so long? With the case in limbo, Meridien is making a lot of money while the government gets nothing,” said Fernandez.

Abakada Rep. Jonathan de la Cruz has filed a House resolution asking the House committee on good government to investigate Meridien, saying that “several foreign governments have expressed concerns that gaming operations have been used for money laundering.”

Deprived of P50B in earnings

The House is also currently probing allegations made by PCSO Chair Erineo Maliksi that his fellow PCSO board members led by General Manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas II had allowed the STL to be coopted by “jueteng” lords.

A report by the National Bureau of Investigation said STL operators had deprived the government of P50 billion in earnings.

Maliksi also accused Rojas and the other board members of abuse of funds through frequent travels, delays in meeting the needs of beneficiaries for medicine and hospitalization, and centralization of the grant of benefits to select top officials.

The House committee on games and amusement chaired by Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. will resume its hearing on Monday.