Pagcor posts P3.67B income in March

Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) reported its tenth straight month of record income on the back of strong casino operations, notwithstanding graft allegations against the agency’s head brought about by a corporate rivalry between overseas gaming giants.

In a statement, Pagcor said it posted P3.67 billion in gross income for March 2012, marking 10 consecutive months of continuous income hikes under the administration of President Aquino.

Pagcor chairman and CEO Cristino Naguiat Jr. said the agency’s latest income figure was P686 million higher than the P2.98 billion reported in the same period last year.

“It was better than our P3.56-billion target for March by P109 million, and by P104 million against our P3.56 billion gross income in February,” he added.

The March gross income is the agency’s highest total income posted for a single month since the government went into the direct management of casino operations 26 years ago, Naguiat said.

The agency uses gross income—revenues, less operating expenses—as its performance metric because the bulk of these funds are remitted to social programs of the government.

According to the Pagcor chief, income from the agency’s own gaming operations in March 2012 reached P2.49 billion, up by P526 million from year-ago level.

“Our upbeat operations during the quarter got an added boost from the strong performance of other gaming establishments we regulate like private licensed casinos, e-games, commercial bingo and poker clubs,” Naguiat said. “They contributed P1.17 billion to our March 2012 earnings, higher by P160 million from a year ago.”

“In March, we were able to allocate P1.85 billion as the agency’s contribution to nation-building,” Naguiat said. “This was P556 million, or 43 percent, more than the P1.29 billion contributions made in March 2011.”

Among the recipients of Pagcor’s funding contributions in March were the Bureau of Internal Revenue (which received P125 million for the 5 percent franchise tax); the National Treasury (P1.18 billion); the Philippine Sports Commission (P59 million); cities hosting Pagcor casinos (P41 million); the President’s Social Fund (P200 million); socio-civic projects (P221 million); Board of Claims (P3.5 million); and the BIR (in fringe benefits tax of P13 million).—Daxim L. Lucas, Doris C. Dumlao