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      Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco today refuted allegations of conflict of interest in connection with the contracts won by his family’s construction firm from the government, saying he has no direct or indirect influence in the awarding of such public works contracts.

      He also denied that the government contracts won by Nationstar Development Corporation, which he founded in 2015, was because of his closeness to the family of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

      “There is no conflict of interest because under the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019) and the Code of Conduct of Government Employees (RA 6713), conflict of interest occurs when a public official has direct or indirect financial or pecuniary interest in any business contract or transaction in which they must intervene in their official capacity,” he said.

      “For one, my position as Chairman and CEO of PAGCOR has no direct or indirect influence in the awarding of public works contracts to Nationstar.

      “For another, I have fully divested all my interests in Nationstar when I assumed the top PAGCOR post in 2022, thus eliminating any potential conflict of interest. I actually started divesting my holdings to my children in 2019,” he added.

      He said that it is up to Congress to determine whether there are existing gaps in conflict-of-interest laws, and what measures they would come up with, if there are any. Mr. Tengco said he entered the construction business way back in 1996, and founded Nationstar in 2015.

      “As a legitimate business entity, Nationstar has previous and ongoing contracts with both the government and the private sector, including many local government units,” he said.

      “During the time of President Benigno Aquino III and President Rodrigo Duterte, Nationstar executed retrofit and fit-out works based on specifications and with high quality standard at the Malacañang premier guest house and the Presidential Management Staff Building.

      “These projects have established our goodwill or reputation in the industry and thus, the subsequent projects awarded to us,” he said.

      During the pandemic, Nationstar was also contracted by the Duterte government to build modular hospitals all over the country, he said.

      In more recent years, Mr. Tengco said Nationstar has completed a number of private contracts including the Senior High School building for Ateneo de Manila, along with other public-run schools nationwide, which qualified the company for the Western Visayas State University project which was cited by the online publication as one of the questionable contracts won by Nationstar.

      “Nationstar also completed the retrofit and fit-out of Meralco’s headquarters just a year ago, both to show that it has easily passed vetting by both public and private institutions,” Mr. Tengco said.

      “It must also be noted that although Nationstar has secured DPWH projects through fair and impartial bids, none is related to flood control projects or even the so-called ghost projects, another testament to the company’s track record and professional integrity,” he said.

      He likewise clarified that the Davao City bypass road project cited by the online publication was not won by Nationstar alone because it was too big for the company to undertake on its own.

      “We joined a consortium which included the China Road and Bridges Corporation because they have the capability to undertake such big project, and the consortium won the bid, not Nationstar,” he said.

      “Singling out my close ties with the Marcos family would thus seem very selective, and distorts the efforts of Nationstar to engage in legitimate business activities regardless of partisan political considerations,” he said.