Sandigan upholds ex-Pagcor chief’s graft conviction

MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan has upheld the conviction of former Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) chairman Efraim Genuino for graft in connection with the anomalous disbursement of P37 million intended for the training of swimmers competing in the 2012 London Olympics.

In its June 8 resolution, the anti-graft court’s Third Division said it did not find any new or substantial arguments in Genuino’s motion to warrant a reconsideration of its March 3 decision.

The Sandiganbayan also denied the motions for reconsideration filed by Genuino’s co-accused, former Pagcor president and COO Rafael Francisco and former Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman William Ramirez.

The Third Division had earlier found Genuino, Francisco and Ramirez guilty of violating Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. They were sentenced to six to 10 years in prison and perpetually disqualified from holding public office.

Filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2016, the case stemmed from the irregularities in the disbursement of Pagcor funds totaling P37,063,488.21 from April 2007 to August 2009.

The fund was released to the private organization Philippine Amateur Swimming Association Inc. (PASA) supposedly without the approval of the Pagcor board of directors.

The ombudsman said that the fund should not have been directly given to PASA but to the PSC to form part of its National Sports Development Fund as provided by law.

Furthermore, the ombudsman said that Trace Aquatic Center, a sports facility leased by PASA for the swimming training program of the athletes, was owned by Genuino and his family.

In its decision, the Third Division said the ombudsman’s prosecution panel was able to sufficiently prove that Genuino, Francisco and Ramirez “acted with evident bad faith and manifest partiality in facilitating the release of Pagcor funds directly to PASA instead of coursing it through the PSC.”

39 more cases

Meanwhile, in a separate resolution, the Third Division denied Genuino’s appeal to reopen the presentation of evidence for the 19 counts of graft and 20 counts of malversation of public funds against him in connection with the alleged mishandling of Pagcor funds totaling P183.7 million.

The ombudsman, which filed the cases in 2013, accused Genuino and other Pagcor officials of illegally donating P44.05 million from the state gaming firm’s intelligence funds to private entities such as BIDA Foundation, Wildformat Inc. and Pencil First, supposedly without any specification of public purpose.

The officials also allegedly disbursed P50 million for the purchase of tarpaulins, shirts, caps and other promotional items and expenses of BIDA Foundation, an organization founded by Genuino in 2003.

Genuino and his co-accused also allegedly used Pagcor funds in paying for tri-media advertisements of BIDA Foundation in 2008 to 2009 totaling P63 million in connection with the foundation’s bid to be accredited by the Commission on Elections as a party-list group.

Genuino and his co-accused were also allegedly involved in the anomalous purchase of P26.7-million worth of tickets for the 2008 film Baler, a movie production deal between Viva Communications and BIDA Foundation. The ombudsman said Pagcor made an advance payment for 89,000 tickets of which 72,150 ended up unused, causing a P22.12-million loss for the state gaming agency.

Genuino allegedly allowed the diversion of Pagcor funds to BIDA Foundation in the hope of securing a seat at the House of Representatives for May 2010 elections. BIDA, however, lost its party-list bid.

The ombudsman also said the Pagcor officials reportedly mishandled 300 metric tons of Thai rice donated by a Japanese firm for the victims of Typhoon Frank in 2008.

The ombudsman said the rice shipment was swapped for lower-grade rice and repacked into smaller bags bearing the names of Genuino’s sons Erwin and Anthony, who were running for local office in the 2010 elections.

The Third Division terminated the trial of the cases after the prosecution and the defense concluded the presentation of their respective witnesses and pieces of evidence.