PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday Chinese gambling tycoon Jack Lam need only pay his taxes to avoid criminal charges after ordering his arrest.
In his visit to Legazpi, Albay, Duterte laid preconditions after the gambling tycoon sent feelers for his return, including the revocation of an old contract that allowed him to pay lower taxes compared to the other locators at the Clark Freeport in Pampanga.
“I’d like to announce in advance because to avoid speculation, that stupid person Jack Lam has sent feelers that he would like to come back,” Duterte said.
“One, because he takes pity on the 6,000 plus Filipinos out of job. Second, he said he would settle his obligation. And third, that contract that was signed during Cory’s time is no longer acceptable to me. He only pays one percent while the rest of the guys there are paying 10.
“If he is agreeable to a renegotiation and apologize for offering something, a bribe, it’s okay [with] me because he has offered to come back to resume his business and pay his taxes.”
Soon after Lam fled the country fearing retribution, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. temporarily shut down the gaming areas operated by his Jimei group at the Fontana Leisure Park and Casino at the Clark Freeport in Angeles City.
Duterte had earlier ordered Lam’s arrest for economic sabotage and bribery following his alleged attempts to bribe Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre and Pagcor head Andrea Domingo to allow the continuation of his operations in the country.
Duterte said he had every right to order Lam’s arrest.
“At the time he left the country his operations were in full swing. That’s why I ordered the NBI to stop them,” Duterte said.
“He seems to talk as if everybody is in his pocket.”
Lam’s name came to the public’s attention following claims that he tried to bribe Aguirre and Domingo to facilitate the release of at least 1,000 Chinese nationals who were rounded up on November 24.
The Chinese nationals were nabbed for their alleged involvement in an illegal online gambling operation at the Fontana Leisure Parks and Casino in Clark, Pampanga.
Aguirre claimed that Lam, through retired Chief Supt. Wally Sombero, told him that the Macau-based businessman had been looking for a “godfather” to protect his gambling business. The justice secretary had said he would not pursue legal action against Lam and Sombero.
Aguirre later claimed that Lam also tried to offer Pagcor chairman Domingo a one-percent cut from his casino earnings so he could continue his gaming business while applying for a license.