MANILA — The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) lambasted the legal counsel of suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo who said the regulator should be the one questioned over the controversial Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO) site in the town.
“We take issue with the statements of Atty. Nicole Rose Margaret Jamilla who tried to pass the blame to PAGCOR the reasons for the criminal cases filed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government against her client, Mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac,” PAGCOR said in a statement.
Guo and two other municipal officials were suspended for up to six months by the Office of the Ombudsman after issuing a permit to the operators of the POGO company despite lacking the necessary documents and a provisional license from PAGCOR.
PAGCOR clarified that it has nothing to do with the issuance of local business permits and licenses to Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO).
It also affirmed that it’s regulations are “clear cut” and that it is only responsible for the issuance of provisional licenses to POGOs.
“We issue licenses based on our own guidelines and the documents submitted by applicants,” it added. “If our licensees are found violating the terms of their licenses, whether these are provisional licenses or regular licenses, they are severely fined and penalized and, in the most serious cases, the licenses are revoked.”
Likewise, PAGCOR stressed that it is not responsible for the inspection of buildings that are not under its jurisdiction.
PAGCOR said they had no access to the rest of the 8-hectare compound where Zun Yuan Technologies, Inc., that was raided in March for reports of human trafficking and illegal detention, was located.
“Zun Yuan’s registered address was the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors of A1 Building inside the compound of Baofu Land Development Inc. We had people from the Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement Department assigned there to monitor their operations,” PAGCOR said.
“Outside of those premises, PAGCOR had no access to the rest of the 8-hectare compound and the 39 other buildings there, many of which were highly restricted and inaccessible to the public. Hence, our people could not have legally monitored activities there,” it added.
PAGCOR said that aside from monitoring and enforcement of PAGCOR rules, the only role of PAGCOR in the raided illegal facilities in Bamban was the issuance of a provisional license to Zun Yuan Technologies, which had been revoked immediately after the March 13 raid.
