Aquino urged to fire officials implicated in Pagcor controversy

MANILA, Philippines - Militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) urged President Aquino to dismiss two former officials of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) for the alleged diversion of funds to a party-list group. Former Pagcor board members Gamaliel Cordoba and Danilo Gozo face plunder charges before the Department of Justice.

Cordoba is an incumbent commissioner of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) while Gozo is a board member of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).  

Gozo was also earlier implicated in a case filed before the Office of the Ombudsman involving the misuse of some P34 million in funds intended for the training of national swimmers.

Cordoba was appointed during the Arroyo administration and retained under the Aquino administration.

Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes said Cordoba is an alumnus of Ateneo de Manila University and was endorsed by one of the factions in the Aquino administration. Gozo, on the other hand, was a PR specialist and part of the media group of the Liberal Party during the 2010 presidential elections. Aquino appointed him to the GSIS board in September 2010.

“Mr. Aquino should remove them from office. Their continuing presence in government, despite graft and plunder raps filed against them, belies the claims of daang matuwid (straight path). It is untenable for a government professing to fight corruption to employ officials facing plunder raps,” said Reyes.

“This shouldn’t be another case of KKK, where questionable officials are retained because of their association with the President,” he added.

Reyes was referring to Aquino appointees who were considered his kabarkada, kaklase, kabarilan (friends, classmates, and shooting buddies).

“The lingering perception is that many Aquino appointees who get into trouble for past and present misdeeds are treated with kid gloves, especially if they fall within the KKK category,” Reyes said. The Pagcor funds were allegedly diverted to the party-list group Batang Iwas sa Droga (BIDA).

Bayan also asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to immediately cancel the accreditation of BIDA because it is receiving government funds. 

In the 2010 elections, Bayan and poll watchdog Kontra Daya exposed BIDA as having been heavily funded by Pagcor and sought its disqualification along with its nominees. The Comelec, through a majority decision of 4 to 3, sided with BIDA.

“The filing of charges is a vindication for us and an indictment of the ruling made by the past Comelec accrediting BIDA. The plunder raps show glaring proof that BIDA was funded by government through Pagcor, a fact that automatically disqualifies BIDA from being a party-list group,” Reyes added.