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Cebu City, Philippines ? If the Cebu City Council denies the establishment of two online casinos, the matter may be brought to court, a relative of the casino franchisee said.
Jeffrey Billy Dagpin said his father, Eduardo Dagpin, is an authorized sales agent of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor). Dagpin said his father is allowed to operate two ?e-game stations? and a ?bingo boutique? by Pagcor.
Dagpin said that if the council will not allow his father to operate these gambling facilities from Cebu City, they will have to ?question the legality of the decision.?
Dagpin explained that the two e-casinos of his father started operating in October 2006. At that time, its operation followed Republic Act 9487 or the Pagcor Charter.
But an amendment of the law last June called on operators of Pagcor franchises to get the approval of the local government unit in which the franchise operates. The licenses of these operations were suspended pending compliance with the amendment.
Dagpin, however, said the law did not require the franchisees to ask for permission from the local government unit, but merely to inform the authorities.
?It is not for the LGU to regulate the business as it is the role of Pagcor,? he said.
To comply with the amendment, Eduardo wrote the City Council last June 20 asking the legislators to endorse the two e-casinos.
The letter was coursed through Councilor Edgardo Labella.
The letter was referred to the council's committee on laws.
Last Friday, Councilor Gerardo Carillo, vice chairman of the committee on laws, said the committee has resolved to oppose the endorsement.
Carillo likened the e-casinos to illegal gambling operations like moli-moli and video karerra, which, he said, violated moral standards.
Dagpin, however, said there was a big distinction between the illegal games Carillo mentioned and the e-casinos of Pagcor.
?The purpose of the casino is to encourage the foreign market (to play). Morality is beyond the issue,? he said.
Meanwhile, Regional Trial Court Judge Sylva Estrella Paderanga yesterday said that the injunction case and the nullity of closure order filed by Waz Lian Management Philippines Inc. (WLMPI) was dismissed with reasonable judgment.
?There was legal basis,? said Paderanga during Monday's hearing of WLMPI's motion for reconsideration.
WLMPI argued that their application for status quo calling for the reopening of the VIP Club casino at the Rajah Park Hotel was ignored by the court.
According to WLMPI, the court issued the order on Oct. 6, just days before the scheduled hearing of the preliminary injunction today.
WLMPI further argued that the court's judgment was wrong when it dismissed their petition for lack of cause of action.
The company said the basis should be because the complaint stated no cause of action, not for lack of cause of action.
Granting that their complaint stated no case of action, the court still had to wait for the opposing party to file a motion to dismiss before dismissing a case, WLMPI said.
But Paderanga ruled that WLMPI lacked the legal personality to act as complainants of the case in the first place, and that there was legal basis for the closure of their operations of a VIP Club.
WLMPI, which also filed a motion for inhibition, reiterated their request for Paderanga to inhibit from the case.
The city government has until Oct. 20 to submit their comment on the prosecution's filed motions.
