Erwin Tulfo questions casino’s role in DPWH scandal

Senate Committee on Games and Amusement Chairperson Senator Erwin Tulfo on Sunday raised concerns over the role of casinos in the unfolding corruption scandal involving Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials in Bulacan, believing that gaming establishments willfully turning a “blind eye” to money laundering involving hundreds of millions in stolen public funds.

Tulfo claimed that casinos knowingly allowed dismissed DPWH officials to gamble away taxpayers’ money without raising red flags, despite the staggering sums being brought in weekly and the use of fake identities by the players.

“They (casinos) cannot claim ignorance,” Tulfo said in an interview. 

“They did not know these were government officials or working in DPW,H just because they used fake IDs? I thought they strictly implement their ‘Know Your Client’ or KYC policy?,” he further lamented.

According to Tulfo, three now-dismissed DPWH personnel from Bulacan's 1st District used aliases to conceal their identities. District Engineer Henry Alcantara used the name “Joseph Villegas,” Assistant District Engineer Brice Hernandez went by “Marvin De Guzman,” and Project Engineer Jaypee Mendoza used “Peejay Asuncion.”

Despite using fake names, Tulfo argued that casino operators should have flagged the transactions and reported them to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).

“They didn’t even raise a single red flag or report this to the AMLC, despite these individuals bringing in hundreds of millions in cash to the casino every single week,” he said.

Tulfo expressed suspicion that casinos were more interested in profit than compliance, choosing silence over scrutiny because the high-stakes betting brought in significant revenue.

“If the casinos did their part in monitoring and reporting the transactions, Alcantara, Hernandez, and Mendoza would have been apprehended immediately, and their pilfering of public funds could have been stopped,” the senator added.

In response, Tulfo announced plans to file a Senate resolution seeking a full investigation into the failure of casinos to comply with anti-money laundering laws. 

The resolution aims to hold accountable gambling establishments that fail to report suspicious transactions, especially those involving government officials using public officials.