ANGELES CITY – Pampanga First District Rep. Carmelo “Tarzan” Lazatin said on Monday that he “fully supports” the leadership of beleaguered Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) Chairman Cristino Naguiat Jr. after Pagcor officials had been accused of receiving bribes from a Japanese businessman.
Lazatin also supported the decision of the House Committee on Games and Amusements to clear Naguiat of any wrongdoing when he received accommodation from Wynn Casino in Macau.
Lazatin said Naguiat “was clearly a collateral damage” in the corporate struggle between Japanese magnate Kazuo Okada and Steve Wynn, owner of Wynn Resorts and Casino in Las Vegas and Macau.
Lazatin stressed there’s nothing irregular when Naguiat received free accommodation from Okada since it is an industry practice to provide Pagcor officials with luxurious hotel amenities.
“Don’t blame Naguiat for it because it is a tradition to give luxurious amenities to any visiting casino official in any country and he is not the first Pagcor official to enjoy such accommodation,” Lazatin said.
Wynn recently kicked Okada out as investor for allegedly giving cash and gifts to Pagcor officials to help seal the latter’s $2 billion worth of investments in the Pagcor Entertainment City.
Lazatin dubbed the move as desperate, explaining that Wynn removed Okada because he is threatened by the project that the Japanese magnate is pursuing in the country.
“Naguiat is simply being used as pawn in this corporate war because Mr. Wynn sees the Pagcor Entertainment City as a big threat to his casinos in Las Vegas, Macau and Singapore,” said Lazatin, a former Pagcor official during the time of the late President Corazon Aquino.
The congressman also said the Pagcor Entertainment City is expected to generate at least 25,000 jobs for directly hired workers, aside from making Philippines one of biggest tourist destinations in Asia.
Lazatin also supported the panel’s move to prohibit Wynn from doing business in the country for besmirching the reputation of Naguiat.
“Those who besmirch the reputation of the country and our officials have no place to do business here,” Lazatin added.
He lauded Naguiat’s leadership, saying that Pagcor has reached greater heights with him at the helm of the government’s gaming body.
“Pagcor has reached record heights in terms of income under Naguiat’s leadership and we have to thank and support him for that,” said Lazatin.
Last year, Pagcor total revenues reached a whopping P36.65 billion, a P5.19 billion or 16.52 percent growth compared to its total income of P31.46 billion in 2010.
The agency began to post record-breaking monthly earnings in May (P3.03 billion), June (P3.05 billion), July (P3.10 billion), August (P3.11 billion) and September (P3.34 billion) and ended 2011 on a high note with a staggering P3.50 billion gross income last December.
