Former PAGCOR Chairman Efraim Genuino and four other former executives will serve more than 100 years in prison after the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court convicted them of graft and misuse of public funds.
The court found Genuino, former COO Rafael Francisco, SVP for Administration Rene Figueroa, SVP for Corporate Communications Edward King, and Assistant VP for Internal Audit Valente Custodio guilty of five counts each under the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. It also convicted them of five counts of malversation of public funds.
Between 2005 and 2008, the group disbursed around PHP50.5 million ($912,000) in PAGCOR funds to support the BIDA Foundation—an organization Genuino founded in 2003. They used the money to produce promotional items, bypassing public bidding processes and exceeding procurement thresholds, according to the court.
Authorities also linked the spending to Genuino’s failed 2010 congressional campaign. Prosecutors argued that he funneled agency resources into the foundation to boost his political ambitions.
The Sandiganbayan archived the case against former VP for Accounting Ester Hernandez, who remains at large. The court will revive proceedings once authorities apprehend or receive her voluntary surrender.
Although the court handed down multiple convictions, it acquitted the five former officials of 14 other graft charges and 15 counts of malversation. These charges involved other questionable transactions, including film ticket purchases and advertising expenses worth over PHP100 million ($1.8 million) between 2008 and 2009.
The Office of the Ombudsman filed the original case in 2011 after investigating PAGCOR’s financial activities during Genuino’s tenure.
