Google map of Opol, Misamis Oriental
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – As the controversy surrounding the Grand Imperial casino in Barangay Taboc, Opol, Misamis Oriental heats up, the town’s local chief executive has maintained he did nothing wrong in allowing the gambling establishment to operate in the municipality.
Opol Mayor Maximino Seno said he welcomes any legal action from individuals and groups who oppose the casino operation in his town.
“I am not afraid. I would be glad if they file cases against me. I will face them,” Seno said in a phone interview on Sunday afternoon.
The mayor said he stands by the mandate of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) to establish gaming outlets anywhere in the country, adding that the casino’s management has been complying with all requirements set by the local government.
During the first hearing conducted by the Misamis Oriental’s legislative council on January 11, Seno said he did not issue a mayor’s permit to Grand Imperial because he did not want to violate the law.
Seno was referring to Presidential Decree 771, in particular, issued by then President Ferdinand Marcos in 1975, which revokes all powers and authority of local government to grant franchise or permit and regulate wager or betting by the public on all forms of legal gambling.
“PAGCOR can set up casino even without the approval of the LGUs as the charter of PAGCOR empowers it to centralize gambling, citing the case between then Cagayan de Oro City mayor Pablo Magtajas versus Pryce Properties and PAGCOR, recorded as G.R. 111097 by the Supreme Court in 1994,” he said.
PAGCOR, he said, is the national government agency “that has been mandated to regulate all games of chance in the country” as provided under PD 1869 and Republic Act 9487.
“In a memorandum issued from the President’s office in 1996 that only the national government has the power to issue licenses or permits for the operation of gambling,” Seno said.
For his part, Dexter Yasay, provincial board member and former Opol mayor, has admitted that PAGCOR has nothing to do with the issue at hand and that the burden of compliance falls on Grand Imperial.
“PAGCOR has nothing to do with this. PAGCOR can only come in to enlighten us,” he told reporters at the sidelines of the second hearing on the casino issue called by the provincial board Friday, Jan. 21.
Yasay said there would have been no issue if the Grand Imperial management has followed the process of obtaining local permits first before operating the casino, which opened Dec. 19, 2021.
He reiterated to the majority of members of the provincial board’s stand that they do not oppose the casino operation itself but on the non-compliance of the Grand Imperial to request from the Opol municipal government for local permits and for the mayor’s reluctance to issue the same.
“If they (Grand Imperial) are a franchise holder or accredited by PAGCOR, there is no question with that because it (PAGCOR) is a government-owned and controlled corporation…but Grand Imperial has not complied, with not a single permit to operate or legal personalities to operate a casino,” Yasay said. (PNA)
