Makati Mayor Abby Binay rapped for illegal online gambling at Ombudsman

Makati City Mayor Abby Binay. (Facebook photo)

MANILA—An anti-corruption group filed graft charges against Makati City Mayor Abigail Binay before the Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday.

The graft case was in connection with the alleged rampant illegal online gambling in Makati City.

In the complaint filed by the Anti-Trapo Movement of the Philippines (ATM), it said that Binay allegedly violated Sections 3 (e) and (j) of Republic Act No.

3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, as well as the Code of Conduct for Public Officials and Employees for failure to stop the illegal activity in the city.

Aside from Binay, also charged were Makati Business Permits Office head Maribert Pagente and other individuals working in the local government of Makati.

The ATM argued that despite several news items about the illegal online gambling in the city, the Makati City officials seemed to ignore the same.

It will be recalled that the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) conducted a raid last October in Hao Ying Solutions Inc. (HYSI), which is one of the firms continuously operating illegal online gambling in Makati City.

It was learned that HYSI is registered at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a business process outsourcing (BPO) center, but operates as an online casino.