Former Pagcor chair Genuino posts bail

Efraim C. Genuino INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Former Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) chair Efraim Genuino posted bail on Friday for 39 counts of graft and malversation filed by the Ombudsman against him and six other former Pagcor executives.

Genuino posted bail totaling P1.71 million for 19 counts of violation of Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and 20 counts of malversation.

The Sandiganbayan had set bail at P30,000 for each count of graft and P60,000 for each count of malversation for all the accused.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales decided last February to pursue charges against Genuino and former Pagcor officers Rafael Francisco, Jose Benedicto, Rene Figueroa, Edward King, Ester Hernandez and Valente Custodio for alleged misuse of the agency’s funds.

The Ombudsman questioned, among others, Pagcor’s promotion of “Baler,” an award-winning film in the 2008 Metro Manila Film Festival, which led to huge business losses.

The historical drama was a joint production of Viva Communications and Batas Iwas Droga Foundation (Bida), which was linked to Genuino.

The Ombudsman said the government was made to shoulder the losses when Pagcor advanced the cost for 89,000 movie tickets priced at P300 each, for a total of P26.7 million. Pagcor sold about 16,850 tickets to casino patrons, its employees and the general public but still ended up paying for 72,150 unused tickets worth about P21.645 million.

The amount along with a sales commission of P474,510 totaling P22,119,510 was charged to Pagcor’s marketing expenses. This was on top of the advertising expense of P2.064 million for the movie.

The Ombudsman noted that all the documents for expenses related to the movie were processed in one day, and the check payment released the very next day.

The Ombudsman also discovered that Bida and Pagcor had interlocking directorates: Genuino and some of the other Pagcor executives were incorporators of Bida.