BUSINESSMAN Roberto “Bobby” V. Ongpin is making a final attempt to save 6,000 PhilWeb and e-Games workers who may just lose their jobs, the operators of e-Games cafes numbering 131 entities and their investment of P1.8 billion; and most importantly, his 771-million shares in PhilWeb, which under normal circumstances would be worth P20 billion but now stand to become worthless.
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. has turned down Ongpin’s donation of his 771-million shares in PhilWeb (he has since resigned as chairman). On August 19, he wrote Pagcor’s board of directors as well as its president and chief executive officer, Andrea Domingo, about his “final attempt not only saving the livelihood of some 6,000 individuals and their families, but also to make effective use of his donation to Pagcor which has been rejected by Pagcor.”
But Pagcor said: “the issue is not RVO nor PhilWeb per se. It is the President’s and his government’s opposition to on-line and on-site electronic gambling because of the social ills and decay they foist on our communities as they cater to the more economically vulnerable portion of our population.”
Ongpin said he had no choice but to accept the decision of Pagcor. In his letter, Ongpin said he is “amending his donation to be used exclusively for the establishment of a nationwide network of drug rehabilitation centers.”
He pointed out that the correct valuation of his donation is closer to P20 billion than the P4 billion to P6 billion estimated by media. Ongpin wrote: “Before Pagcor’s decision not to renew the PhilWeb license, PhilWeb had a market capitalization of P40 billion and therefore half of it is worth at least P20 billion.” He added “this is the amount which I am personally sacrificing and donating to Pagcor in the attempt to save jobs and investment losses for innocent employees and e-Games operators.”
As background, some months before PhilWeb’s license was to expire, PhilWeb engaged in a serious study of drug rehabilitation centers. They looked at how other countries in the world were addressing this need.
According to Ongpin, Philweb had identified a site near Atimonan, Quezon province, which had been used as a staging area during the construction of Balesin Island Club, as an ideal site. It consists of 2.1 hectares of land fronting the Pacific Ocean and a virgin forest behind it. “We even identified medical toxicologists and other drug rehabilitation specialists, who we would retain to man this center,” he said.
“Our objective,” Ongpin pointed out “was to develop a model drug rehabilitation center which can be used as a prototype for other centers to be established by the government and others in the private sector. Ongpin continued that PhilWeb had actually appropriated P100 million per year (equivalent to about 10 percent of its profits), plus P2 million to P3 million per month to maintain and sustain this center.”
“Obviously, this project can no longer be undertaken by PhilWeb at this point,” Ongpin said.
In his letter, Ongpin also said, “I am a firm believer in the President’s drive against the drug menace.” And as he point out, “the elimination of drug lords and drug pushers will not succeed unless this is complemented by an effective drug rehabilitation program. While one could agree that gambling is undesirable, nothing could be more pernicious than the drug menace which destroys the very fabric of our youth and our society, which admirably, the President has chosen as his first priority.”
Ongpin thus amended his earlier donation to Pagcor to be implemented in several ways:
Pagcor could accept the donation after an appropriate period when the true values of PhilWeb have been restored, and then auction it off.
A drug rehabilitation agency could be created to which the donation could be funneled. It should be managed both by the government and the private sector to ensure the effective use of the donated funds. This may, however take time, as it may require legislation, although Ongpin personally believes that it could be accomplished by a presidential executive order.
A combination of both (1) and (2) above where the donation is initially channeled to Pagcor with the specific objective of utilizing the funds for the purpose of drug rehabilitation as soon as an effective mechanism for the purpose has been established.
Ongpin said that he hoped he would be forgiven for “one last attempt” as contained in his letter. “It is a sincere attempt and no benefit whatsoever will accrue to me since I have already committed to donate all my shares in PhilWeb.”
“I believe that it is useful for maintaining the format of the original donation with 49 percent going to the government (but now amended to be specifically used for drug rehabilitation) and the balance of 4.7 percent to the Ateneo de Manila University JVO (Jaime V. Ongpin) Scholarship Foundation.”
To date, as this column goes to press, Pagcor has not replied to Ongpin’s final offer.
I have said in my earlier columns, killing drug dealers and users will not end the drug menace unless drug rehabilitation facilities are built to turn drug abusers into productive members of society.
This was shown during martial law when drug lord Lim Seng was executed as a warning to those dealing in drugs. For a while, the drug menace went underground until they came back again, and strong. I know this because I was involved in drug rehabilitation with DARE Foundation, put up by former priest Bob Garon. I was DARE Foundation’s vice president, and I knew the drug problem quite well.
This is why I’m all for Bobby Ongpin’s idea for Pagcor and the Duterte administration to use his donation to put up a prototype drug rehabilitation center.
I know that unless the thousands of drug abusers and drug addicts are fully rehabilitated, the illegal drug menace will continue to hound us.
As for PhilWeb, I believe it’s not strictly and technically online gambling since those who play it cannot access from this homes and offices. Those who play it are in fact authorized by Pagcor.
Santa Banana, if President Duterte thinks that PhilWeb’s e-Game is gambling, then he should also cancel Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s “Small Town Lotteries,” since that’s gambling, pure and simple.
Aside from that, what I am concerned about is the perception of foreign investors that if a publicly-listed company like PhilWeb can be shut down, what next? Malacanang must realize that those who invested in PhilWeb in the stock market are not all Filipinos. Many investors are foreigners as well.
Pagcor needs to study Ongpin’s letter.
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My wife, of the Capistrano clan of Cagayan de Oro City, can relate to all the cursing and invectives that accompany President Duterte’s press conference and speeches. She grew up in Zamboanga and late on in Cotabato City where I married her. And she speaks Cebuano, Ilonggo and even Waray since her mother was from Tacloban City. She also speaks Chabacano.
My wife says that since President Duterte speaks Cebuano, being originally from Cebu, he speaks the language of the ordinary Cebuanos with all the expletives. This is the dialect of the streets. My wife adds that is the reason why the “masa” in the Visayas and Mindanao can relate to the President. He speaks the language of the common folk.
Meanwhile, we in Imperial Manila feel uncomfortable with the President’s cursing.
