You really do have to give it to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation.
After the record-setting year they’ve been having, Pagcor chairman Cristino Naguiat, Jr. continues to remain bullish on the government agency’s continued revenue success. And the man isn’t talking about the remainder of the year; he’s got an eye on 2013, too.
In a recent interview with the Philippine Star, Naguiat was bold in what he thinks will be continued success for Pagcor. “This year, we will hit Php 43 billion then in 2013, we can hit Php 46 billion,” he said.
Braggadocio notwithstanding, Naguiat has every right to be optimistic, especially since he has led a resurgence for the once-beleaguered agency that is now riding 12 straight months of record revenues.
Naguiat points to operational reforms and the initial financial splash of the soon-to-open Entertainment City project as the catalyst for increased growth in the coming year. The first of the four casinos to open at Entertainment City will be Solaire Manila, the project of Enrique Razon’s Bloomberry Resorts, which is expected to open in the first quarter of 2013. Upon completion of all four casinos, Naguiat is envisioning a financial revenue windfall amounting to around Php 80 to Php 90 billion.
For the first half of 2012, Pagcor has reported a gross revenue of Php 21 billion (a Php 4-billion increase from its 2011 figures) that is being back-stopped by record revenues posted in the first six months of the year. “Our performance during the last 24 months of the Aquino administration is a testament to the fact that our resolve to institute and implement operational reforms is working so well. We are able to break records and create laudable milestones,” Naguiat said.
The Pagcor chief understands that with the way his agency has been performing, expectations are only getting higher and higher for Pagcor. Naguiat understands this and has made it clear that, under his leadership, Pagcor will embrace the challenge of continuing to not only meet expectations, but exceed them with the kind of ferocity they’ve displayed for the past year.
“We have set really high standards for ourselves,” he explains. “That is the only way to go forward. We also keep reminding ourselves that we are here to help our government raise the much-needed funds to sustain its nation-building programs.”
