{"id":288486,"date":"2023-09-06T12:27:35","date_gmt":"2023-09-06T17:27:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=288486"},"modified":"2023-09-06T19:50:36","modified_gmt":"2023-09-07T00:50:36","slug":"e-sabong-scandal-leads-to-charges-against-pagcor-heads-in-the-philippines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/e-sabong-scandal-leads-to-charges-against-pagcor-heads-in-the-philippines\/","title":{"rendered":"Philippines e-Sabong Scandal Leads to Charges Against PAGCOR Heads"},"content":{"rendered":"

An agreement between an e-Sabong operator and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR<\/a>) is returning to haunt the gaming regulator. Some 10 people, including the current and former bosses, face charges of abuse of authority.<\/p>\n

\"Philippine
Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. Chairman Alejandro Tengco at his desk. He and other PAGCOR individuals face charges of graft tied to an e-Sabong operator’s bond. (Image: Reuters<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the center of the scandal is a payment of a PHP75 million (US$1.32 million) bond Kamura Highlands Gaming and Holdings Inc. handed over to the regulator. The company paid the bond to operate a business involving e-Sabong, or online betting on cockfights.<\/p>\n

\n

Among those named in the accusation are former PAGCOR board members Gabriel Claudio, Carmen Pedrosa, Reynaldo Concordia and James Patrick Bondoc, according to media outlet Philstar. <\/em>These follow former PAGCOR head Andrea Domingo, current boss Alejandro Tengco, and Tengco\u2019s chief of staff, Dianne Erica Jogno.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

That was before the Philippines pulled the plug<\/a> on e-Sabong in the wake of criminal activity involving police officers and at least one person trying to sell her baby<\/a> to pay off her e-Sabong debt. When Kamura requested the bond repayment, it was discovered that the money no longer existed.<\/p>\n

Without a Trace<\/h2>\n

When the Philippines cut off e-Sabong, Joaquin Sy, Kamura\u2019s chairman and lead shareholder, contacted PAGCOR for the money. However, he reportedly never received a response. Eventually, it surfaced that PAGCOR had given the money to someone else. For reasons that still have to be determined, then-PAGCOR chair Andrea Domingo allegedly gave it to someone named Jewel Castro.<\/p>\n

Shortly after receiving the money, Castro withdrew it from the bank account to which it had been deposited. Although Castro had ties to Kamura, the individual was reportedly neither a primary shareholder nor a designated assignee.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a result, Sy wants PAGCOR\u2019s<\/a> leadership to be held accountable. The 10 individuals face graft charges for conducting possibly illegal transactions that may have benefited them personally.<\/p>\n

Not Guilty as Charged<\/h2>\n

The transactions \u2013 the request for the bond\u2019s return and the subsequent payment \u2013 occurred under the old PAGCOR regime. However, Tengco appears in the complaint because he was coming in just as the money went to Castro\u2019s account.<\/p>\n

He also faces other charges. Sy accuses him and Jogno of obstruction of justice in the complaint for allegedly covering up the issue. He also accuses them of not responding quickly to his initial request for clarification on the whereabouts of the bond.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tengco, who took over as PAGCOR\u2019s boss in August 2022. Pedrosa and Concordia passed away sometime between the request for reimbursement and the delivery of the funds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An agreement between an e-Sabong operator and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) is returning to haunt the gaming regulator. Some 10 people, including the current and former bosses, face charges of abuse of authority. At the center of the scandal is a payment of a PHP75 million (US$1.32 million) bond Kamura Highlands Gaming […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":288485,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69069,21],"tags":[81913,13766,13520],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPhilippines e-Sabong Scandal Leads to Charges Against PAGCOR Heads - Casino.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"e-Sabong scandal leads to charges against PAGCOR heads in the Philippines, although current Chairman Alejandro Tengco pleads innocent.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/e-sabong-scandal-leads-to-charges-against-pagcor-heads-in-the-philippines\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Philippines e-Sabong Scandal Leads to Charges Against PAGCOR Heads - Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"e-Sabong scandal leads to charges against PAGCOR heads in the Philippines, although current Chairman Alejandro Tengco pleads innocent.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/e-sabong-scandal-leads-to-charges-against-pagcor-heads-in-the-philippines\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-06T17:27:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-07T00:50:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Philippine-Amusement-and-Gaming-Corp.-boss-Alejandro-Tengco-at-his-desk.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1105\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"737\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Erik Gibbs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Erik Gibbs\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/e-sabong-scandal-leads-to-charges-against-pagcor-heads-in-the-philippines\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/e-sabong-scandal-leads-to-charges-against-pagcor-heads-in-the-philippines\/\",\"name\":\"Philippines e-Sabong Scandal Leads to Charges Against PAGCOR Heads - Casino.org\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/e-sabong-scandal-leads-to-charges-against-pagcor-heads-in-the-philippines\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/e-sabong-scandal-leads-to-charges-against-pagcor-heads-in-the-philippines\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Philippine-Amusement-and-Gaming-Corp.-boss-Alejandro-Tengco-at-his-desk.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-06T17:27:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-07T00:50:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/21bf33e35290a1da9c572298dac6b7ca\"},\"description\":\"e-Sabong scandal leads to charges against PAGCOR heads in the Philippines, although current Chairman Alejandro Tengco pleads innocent.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/e-sabong-scandal-leads-to-charges-against-pagcor-heads-in-the-philippines\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/e-sabong-scandal-leads-to-charges-against-pagcor-heads-in-the-philippines\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/e-sabong-scandal-leads-to-charges-against-pagcor-heads-in-the-philippines\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Philippine-Amusement-and-Gaming-Corp.-boss-Alejandro-Tengco-at-his-desk.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Philippine-Amusement-and-Gaming-Corp.-boss-Alejandro-Tengco-at-his-desk.jpg\",\"width\":1105,\"height\":737,\"caption\":\"Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. Chairman Alejandro Tengco at his desk. He and other PAGCOR individuals face charges of graft tied to an e-Sabong operator's bond. (Image: Reuters)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/e-sabong-scandal-leads-to-charges-against-pagcor-heads-in-the-philippines\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Crime & Scandals\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/scandals\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Philippines e-Sabong Scandal Leads to Charges Against PAGCOR Heads\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/21bf33e35290a1da9c572298dac6b7ca\",\"name\":\"Erik Gibbs\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-13-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-13-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Erik Gibbs\"},\"description\":\"Erik Gibbs covers global gaming news for Casino.org. His scope includes Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia. Erik has covered gaming markets in Europe and Asia for the past six years. Erik joined Casino.org in November 2021. Erik has written for numerous gambling- and a handful of industry publications has quoted casino-related media outlets over the years and. He is always excited to bring a new perspective on what's happening in the gaming space. Erik enjoys following the global gaming industry, paying particular attention to innovation and regulation. Originally from the US, Erik has spent extensive time living in various countries across the globe. He enjoys anything that has to do with the outdoors and exploration, although he readily admits that he would have no trouble spending all day fishing on a boat. He currently resides in Spain. Contact Erik at erik.gibbs@casino.org.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/erik-gibbs\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Philippines e-Sabong Scandal Leads to Charges Against PAGCOR Heads - Casino.org","description":"e-Sabong scandal leads to charges against PAGCOR heads in the Philippines, although current Chairman Alejandro Tengco pleads innocent.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/e-sabong-scandal-leads-to-charges-against-pagcor-heads-in-the-philippines\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Philippines e-Sabong Scandal Leads to Charges Against PAGCOR Heads - Casino.org","og_description":"e-Sabong scandal leads to charges against PAGCOR heads in the Philippines, although current Chairman Alejandro Tengco pleads innocent.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/e-sabong-scandal-leads-to-charges-against-pagcor-heads-in-the-philippines\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2023-09-06T17:27:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-09-07T00:50:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1105,"height":737,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Philippine-Amusement-and-Gaming-Corp.-boss-Alejandro-Tengco-at-his-desk.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Erik Gibbs","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Casino_Org","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Erik Gibbs","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/e-sabong-scandal-leads-to-charges-against-pagcor-heads-in-the-philippines\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/e-sabong-scandal-leads-to-charges-against-pagcor-heads-in-the-philippines\/","name":"Philippines e-Sabong Scandal Leads to Charges Against PAGCOR Heads - Casino.org","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/e-sabong-scandal-leads-to-charges-against-pagcor-heads-in-the-philippines\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/e-sabong-scandal-leads-to-charges-against-pagcor-heads-in-the-philippines\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Philippine-Amusement-and-Gaming-Corp.-boss-Alejandro-Tengco-at-his-desk.jpg","datePublished":"2023-09-06T17:27:35+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-07T00:50:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/21bf33e35290a1da9c572298dac6b7ca"},"description":"e-Sabong scandal leads to charges against PAGCOR heads in the Philippines, although current Chairman Alejandro Tengco pleads innocent.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/e-sabong-scandal-leads-to-charges-against-pagcor-heads-in-the-philippines\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/e-sabong-scandal-leads-to-charges-against-pagcor-heads-in-the-philippines\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/e-sabong-scandal-leads-to-charges-against-pagcor-heads-in-the-philippines\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Philippine-Amusement-and-Gaming-Corp.-boss-Alejandro-Tengco-at-his-desk.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Philippine-Amusement-and-Gaming-Corp.-boss-Alejandro-Tengco-at-his-desk.jpg","width":1105,"height":737,"caption":"Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. Chairman Alejandro Tengco at his desk. He and other PAGCOR individuals face charges of graft tied to an e-Sabong operator's bond. (Image: Reuters)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/e-sabong-scandal-leads-to-charges-against-pagcor-heads-in-the-philippines\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Crime & Scandals","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/scandals\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Philippines e-Sabong Scandal Leads to Charges Against PAGCOR Heads"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/21bf33e35290a1da9c572298dac6b7ca","name":"Erik Gibbs","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-13-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-13-96x96.png","caption":"Erik Gibbs"},"description":"Erik Gibbs covers global gaming news for Casino.org. His scope includes Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia. Erik has covered gaming markets in Europe and Asia for the past six years. Erik joined Casino.org in November 2021. Erik has written for numerous gambling- and a handful of industry publications has quoted casino-related media outlets over the years and. He is always excited to bring a new perspective on what's happening in the gaming space. Erik enjoys following the global gaming industry, paying particular attention to innovation and regulation. Originally from the US, Erik has spent extensive time living in various countries across the globe. He enjoys anything that has to do with the outdoors and exploration, although he readily admits that he would have no trouble spending all day fishing on a boat. He currently resides in Spain. Contact Erik at erik.gibbs@casino.org.","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/erik-gibbs\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288486"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=288486"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288486\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":288597,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288486\/revisions\/288597"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/288485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}