They are called the “BGC Boys.”
Not for Bonifacio Global City, but for the ‘Bulacan Group of Contractors,’ a nickname used by casino employees.
A focus of ongoing Senate scrutiny into flood control anomalies, the group of former and current DPWH Bulacan district officials is now accused of using casinos as laundromats for ill-gotten wealth.
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson, in his privilege speech on Tuesday, September 9, titled ‘Flooded Gates of Hell,’ detailed how the group used casinos to disguise illicit funds from flood control projects.
According to records his office obtained, the five officials were regulars in at least 13 casinos across Metro Manila, Cebu, and Pampanga.
The mechanics, Lacson explained, were deceptively simple.
Cash, suspected to be sourced from kickbacks and ghost projects, was converted into casino chips.
Instead of betting heavily, the officials often played only minimally, then returned to the cashier’s cage to “cash out” the chips, declaring them as winnings.
Casino records showed nearly ₱950 million in combined gross losses under their names and aliases.
Yet these losses told only half the story: in some instances, they appeared to rake in extraordinary “wins,” including combined payouts worth hundreds of millions of pesos at Newport World Resorts in Pasay, an anomaly that raised red flags for money laundering.
To mask their identities, the BGC Boys allegedly relied on aliases and even fake driver’s licenses.
Former Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara, for instance, reportedly gambled under the name “Joseph Castro Villegas,” while assistant district engineer Brice Hernandez used “Marvin Santos de Guzman.”
Other members also used aliases, while one transacted under his real name.
One set of records showed Alcantara converting over ₱1.4 billion into casino chips and cashing out nearly ₱1 billion; Hernandez’s chips-to-cash transactions totaled about ₱1.38 billion.
For Lacson, the pattern was unmistakable.
“These big-time gamblers converted public funds into casino chips, then cashed out after minimal play to make it appear as legitimate winnings,” he said, stressing that casinos are “covered persons” under the amended Anti-Money Laundering Act.
The senator said his office has already forwarded the names, aliases, and records of the BGC Boys to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) for action.
“These big-time gamblers converted stolen taxpayers’ money into casino chips, then cashed out after minimal play to make it appear as legitimate winnings,” he said, stressing that casinos are “covered persons” under the amended Anti-Money Laundering Act.
