That reared its ugly head once again after Pagcor was asked to remit to the Bureau of the Treasury Php5.8 billion in dividends that it didn’t pay during the time of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Cristino Naguiat Jr., the current CEO and chairman of Pagcor, wasn’t around at that time, and yet his agency is once again having to pay the proverbial tab left behind by the administration of his predecessor, Efraim Genuino.
“I was not yet the head of Pagcor during that time,” Naguiat said, as quoted by the Inquirer. “I will ask our accounting department to reconcile figures with the Department of Finance.”
While not directly pointing fingers at anybody, it is pretty curious that the amount covered by those missing dividends spanned from 2005 to 2010, or the heart of Genuino’s management of the government-run agency. And as we’ve seen and heard about Genuino over the years since he left Pagcor’s office, he apparently has a lot of skeletons in his closet, too, some of which are just being outed in the form of graft and malversation charges.
For his part, Naguiat said in a press briefing that Pagcor is open to settling liabilities incurred, even from past administrations. It might not be capable of just dropping the Php5.8 billion on the Treasury’s doorstep in one go, but settling it within two to three years is something that could get done, provided the amount reported to the media is accurate.
source : www.calvinayre.com
