Pagcor hits Guo’s lawyer: No role in issuing business permits

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) maintained that the agency has nothing to do with the issuance of local business permits and licenses.

“We are also not responsible for the inspection of buildings that are not under our jurisdiction. We issue licenses based on our own guidelines and the documents submitted by applicants,” Pagcor said in a statement.

“Pagcor’s regulations are clear cut. If our licensees are found violating the terms of their licenses, whether these are provisional licenses or regular licenses, they are fined and penalized and, in the most serious cases, the licenses are revoked,” the state gaming regulator added.

Pagcor issued the statement after Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo’s lawyer, Nicole Rose Margaret Jamilla, tried to pass the blame on the government agency the reasons for the criminal cases filed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) against her client.

“It is only under the present Pagcor administration that the real anomalies in the former POGO activities have been exposed,” Pagcor said.

Ten raids against POGOs have been successfully conducted, leading to exposure of criminal activities being perpetrated by some of the licensees, the agency said.  — Daphne Galvez, Marc Jayson Cayabyab