Ongpin’s daughter quits, too

TAKING the cue from her father, the daughter of businessman Roberto V. Ongpin likewise quit as vice chair of gaming firm PhilWeb Corp. after President Duterte’s declaration of war against “oligarchs.”

Ongpin was earlier pinpointed by Mr. Duterte as an example of an “oligarch” he would bring down during his term. He stepped down as PhilWeb chair on Thursday.

In a letter dated Aug. 4 posted on the website of the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday, PhilWeb vice chair and director Anna Bettina Ongpin submitted her resignation to the firm’s board, effective immediately.

Anna Bettina, who was schooled in the United Kingdom and the United States, had lived for many years in the US as a management consultant for a number of firms. She moved back to the Philippines to help her dad run his businesses in 2013.

PhilWeb operates e-game stations or internet cafés exclusively dedicated to casino games including baccarat, blackjack, various slot machine games, video poker and others. Most e-game cafés operate on a 24/7 basis. Its key subsidiaries include BigGame Inc., Premyo sa Resibo Inc., e-Magine Gaming Corp., PhilWeb Convergence Corp. and PhilWeb Asia-Pacific Corp.

PhilWeb’s intellectual property license agreement with the state-controlled Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) is expiring on Aug. 10.

Its license from Pagcor to operate e-games is seen to be at risk given Mr. Duterte’s strong stance against e-gaming.