THE Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) said it plans to issue a notice to terminate its consultancy contract with the third-party auditor聽of its licensed offshore gaming operations,聽Global ComRCI.
鈥淪ince September 2022, the new PAGCOR management has been conducting extensive reviews of PAGCOR鈥檚 existing contracts, among which is Global ComRCI鈥檚. Upon careful evaluation, PAGCOR has determined the third-party auditor to be in default of its obligations and (has) prima facie evidence (that it) committed unlawful acts,鈥 PAGCOR said in a statement.
PAGCOR said that it endorsed the matter to the Office of the Solicitor General for the possible filing of administrative, civil and criminal cases against the auditor.
鈥淧AGCOR will likewise explore all legal remedies available for the restitution of more than P800 million out of the partial amount released to Global ComRCI prior to the assumption of the current administration as well as damages it has caused to the corporation,鈥 it said.
鈥淧AGCOR would like to reiterate that contrary to previous reports, it has not yet paid the contract amount of P6 billion to Global ComRCI. Moreover, no payment has been made by PAGCOR in the past four years due to the shortfall from the minimum revenue stipulated in the contract,鈥 it added.
It also added that it will give the auditor 鈥渢he opportunity to be heard鈥 in line with due process.
鈥淚n the absence of an external auditor, PAGCOR will temporarily undertake auditing functions for its offshore licensees until it is able to contract another third-party auditor through a transparent and strict bidding process,鈥 it added. 鈥 Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson
