With record revenues sprouting month after month after month, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation drew the praise of no less than the highest authority in the Philippines, President Benigno Aquino Jr.
We’ve already touched on the record-breaking revenue month the government agency enjoyed in March, but it appears that we weren’t the only ones to notice.
In a statement released by Pagcor, presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte praised the agency for exceeding their gross income target (Php 3.67 billion) for the month of March, saying that the record high income from Pagcor will go a long way in providing additional funds in the government’s various social projects. “The higher the revenues generated by Pagcor, the better for us,” Valte said. “It is not just the President’s Social Fund – earmarked for Php 200 million – that would benefit from this because Pagcor revenues fund a lot of other projects.”
In addition to the President’s Social Fund, a number of other beneficiaries are also in line to get their own piece of Pagcor’s revenue pie, including the Bureau of Internal Revenue, which is slated to receive Php 125 million as part of the 5% franchise tax. Likewise, the National Treasury will receive Php 1.18 billion while the Philippine Sports Commission gets Php 59 million. Other beneficiaries include cities that host Pagcor casinos (Php 41 million), socio-civic projects (Php 221 million), the Board of Claims (Php 3.5 million), and contributions to the BIR in fringe tax benefits (Php 13 million).
Valte also cited Pagcor’s record-breaking income for the month of March as a product of stable leadership, whose chairman Cristino Naguiat Jr, has overseen 10 different months with record-breaking monthly incomes. “This unprecedented and record high gross income gives us an indication of how Pagcor is run now,” Valte said. “Whereas before it was embroiled in various controversies, now there is a very deliberate shift from the old land mines.”
The spokesperson, of course, is referring to the previous Pagcor administration, one that was involved in one controversy after another.
We’re thrilled that Pagcor is being run by people who know what they’re doing in this business. It’s certainly not an easy job by any stretch of the imagination. But certainly, the results speak for themselves.
Consistency, after all, is a product of competency. And with the recent monthly income Pagcor has generated, we’re not about to question their consistency, much less their competency in what they’re doing.
