Anna Bettina Ongpin did not wait any longer and resigned from PhilWeb Corp. a day after her father, Roberto, resigned.
On Thursday, Former Trade and Industry Sec . Roberto “Bobby” Ongpin resigned as chairman of PhilWeb Corp. after President Rodrigo Duterte said he wanted to destroy “oligarchs” embedded in government.
In less than 24 hours, Ongpin’s daughter, Anna Bettina, the vice-chairman and director of the publicly listed firm, also stepped down and let go of the business.
According to a disclosure filed at the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday, Bettina resigned “to devote more time and attention to other business matters”.
Anna Bettina’s resignation was through a short notice to PhilWeb’s board of directors and president Dennis Valdes stating that she is stepping down from the company and all its subsidiaries.
Anna Bettina, who was schooled in the UK and the US, had lived for many years in the US as a management consultant for a number of firms. She moved back to the Philippines to help her dad run his businesses in 2013.
Philweb operates e-Games stations or internet cafes exclusively dedicated to casino games including baccarat, blackjack, various slot machine games, video poker and others. Most e-Games cafes operate on a 24/7 basis. Its key subsidiaries include BigGame Inc., Premyo sa Resibo Inc., e-Magine Gaming Corp., PhilWeb Convergence Corp. and PhilWeb Asia-Pacific Corp.
“The plan really is to destroy the oligarchs that are embedded in government,” Duterte said, speaking to representatives of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) at Malacañan.
“I’ll give you an example, publicly, Ongpin, Roberto. He was influential during the time of (Ferdinand) Marcos, Trade minister, I think. He remained influential despite the succession. During the time of (Fidel) Ramos, he was a hanger on as well as during the time of Gloria (Arroyo) and P-Noy (Benigno Aquino III). Now he owns (an) online (gambling firm)”, the president added.
In his first meeting with Cabinet on June 30, the day he was inaugurated president, Duterte said his government should put a stop to online gaming activities as these are difficult to be taxed.