Pagcor overpaid employees and underpaid the government

As stated in the latest report of the Audit Commission, the Philippine gambling regulator in 2017 exceeded the official recommendations on payments to employees who worked for the company for a long time.

The audit report also raised an age-old question: the alleged underpayment of funds to the national government by Pagcor.

The commission reported that the underpayment of the regulator - in relation to the government's share of 50% of the income from Pagcor operations - for the period from 2011 to 2017 amounted to 21.9 billion Philippine pesos ($396 million).

The document also noted that the gambling regulator granted cash awards totaling about 12.5 million Philippine pesos to employees who have more than 20 years of work experience, as well as rings from 18-carat gold to each employee as a souvenir. The total value of the gold rings exceeded 13 million Filipino pesos.

According to the audit commission, the payment exceeded the amount provided by the commission's circular letter (September 2013). The document stated that the maximum payment for 20 years of service should not exceed 5,000 Filipino pesos per person.

"We made recommendations, and management agreed that it is necessary to obtain approval from the presidential administration for the issue of benefits, especially loyalty rewards, to Pagcor employees," the report said.

The commission stated that the Pagcor rulebook referred to a cash payment of 10,000 Filipino pesos per person for 20 years of service plus a one-time payment of a monthly salary and a gold ring.

At the same time, Pagcor's net profit in the first quarter of 2018 exceeded $ 27 million, which is 7.6% more than in the same period of the last year.

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