Gov. Erico “Aris” Aristotle Aumentado
A former lawmaker from Misamis Occidental was accused of bribing the governor of Bohol to allow the operation of a numbers game called swertres, but his cousin denied the allegations.
Jonas Cacho, a city councilor of Tagbilaran, said he did not believe that his cousin, Diego Ty, paid “protection money” to Gov. Erico “Aris” Aristotle Aumentado. Cacho made the statement in an interview with dyTR’s Bandillo 1116 on March 6, 2024.
The accusation came from Teofisto Cabagnot, a retired police colonel who claimed to be Ty’s partner in applying for a franchise to operate swertres in Bohol.
Cabagnot said he gave an envelope containing P300,000 to Aumentado, supposedly from Ty, as a payoff for the governor’s approval.
“Bahin anang P300,000, murag di ko motoo ana…sa akong nahibaw-an wala man gyu’y… nganong muhatag man pud kay in the first place, wala man pud rason nga mohatag pa sila [Ty], kay ang instruction [sa Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) ], is to organize man,” Cacho said.
Cacho said he was present in the meetings between Ty and Cabagnot, where they discussed their plans to operate swertres in Bohol. He said Ty never went to the capitol to meet with Aumentado.
“Bahin anang kwan sa kapitolyo, sa kapitolyo gyud. Sa tinood lang si Cong. Ty wala gyud na ka anha [sa kapitolyo],” Cacho said.
Cacho and Ty are first cousins, and Ty owns the Park and Go bakeshop chain, where Cacho helps manage the Bohol branches.
How the deal started
Cabagnot held a press conference and met with the media in Tagbilaran City on March 4, 2024. He revealed how he approached Aumentado about operating swertres in Bohol after the governor won the 2022 elections.
He said he attended a surprise victory party for Aumentado, where he proposed to the governor that they play swertres together.
“Kung musugot ka, ingon sya, unsa man, magduwa tag swertres kay nia ang kwarta ani,” Cabagnot said, recalling his conversation with Aumentado at the party.
However, Aumentado insisted that he would only allow the legal version of swertres, which is sanctioned by the PCSO.
Cabagnot said he had experience in running the swertres game through the Peryahan ng Bayan, which had a playing station in Baclayon town.
“So nakahibaw ko ug unsa pagpaduwa ug swertres,” he said.
Cabagnot applied for a franchise with the PCSO to operate swertres in Bohol and take over the existing franchise holder, whose permit was about to expire in 2022.
He talked with Royina Garma, the former general manager of the PCSO. One of the requirements was a certificate of no objection (CoNO) from the governor.
Cabagnot obtained Aumentado’s signature on his CoNO, and submitted it along with the initial capital to the PCSO. He applied for the franchise under the name of One Gaming Corporation.
Garma then instructed Cabagnot to organize his team, as the franchise would be issued soon.
Cabagnot identified Ty as his financier, who would provide the initial capital for the swertres operation.
After organizing themselves, Cabagnot said Garma told him to “do the test run” and wait for Aumentado’s final consent.
“Akong giadto si governor miingon siya nga way problema, nia sa iyang text, pagduwa mo ayaw lang ko iapil ninyo,” Cabagnot said.
Cabagnot said that after getting the governor’s go signal, he handed an envelope to Aumentado, which he claimed came from Ty.
He said he did not know how much money was in the envelope, or if it even contained money at all.
He later learned that the envelope had P300,000 inside.
No Franchise Granted
Cacho said that Ty and Cabagnot’s group failed to operate the swertres game because the PCSO extended the franchise of the existing operator.
He said Cabagnot’s plan to operate legal swertres in Bohol never materialized.