DOJ forms panel to handle plunder raps vs ex-PAGCOR chair, 40 others

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has designated a three-member panel of prosecutors to handle the plunder complaint that the current Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) leadership filed against the state-owned gaming firm's former chairman Efraim Genuino and 40 other respondents. The plunder, graft and malversation complaint is the third among the string of criminal charges filed against Genuino and his alleged accomplices and cohorts. The fourth and latest graft and malversation complaint was filed on Monday. In Department Order No. 578 dated July 13, De Lima assigned Assistant State Prosecutor Edna Valenzuela as chair with Assistant State Prosecutors Christine Perolino and Zenamar Machacon-Caparos as members. The plunder complaint, filed on Monday last week, stemmed from the alleged use of P186 million to fund the anti-drug campaign and program of BIDA Foundation Inc., a private entity where former PAGCOR officials were officers. In the May 2010 elections, BIDA Foundation also ran but lost as a party-list group. The foundation had Genuino's daughter, Sheryl, as its first nominee. PAGCOR said there was conflict of interest on the part of BIDA Foundation's officials because they received financial support from PAGCOR, where they also sat as officials. In the complaint filed with the DOJ, PAGCOR incumbent chair Cristino Naguiat Jr. said former PAGCOR officers approved "questionable" and "anomalous" transactions that went to the pockets of BIDA Foundation, which had nothing to do with the operations of the state-owned gaming firm. The projects' flyers and other promotion materials carried Genuino's face, signature, and message. Aside from Genuino, the other respondents in the complaint include: