Thursday, September 25, 2008 Casino operator files civil raps vs. City, asks court to nullify closure
A CIVIL suit was filed against the Cebu City Government, Mayor Tomas Osmeña and City Attorney Rodolfo Golez following their move to shut down the operations of slot machines in a midtown hotel last week.
Aside from asking the court to declare the closure order null and void, the petitioners also asked it to issue a mandatory injunction to allow the slot machines of the Casino Filipino VIP (very important persons) lounge at the Rajah Park Hotel to operate again.
They also asked the City to pay at least P1 million in moral damages, P500,000 in exemplary damages, P200,000 in attorney’s fees and P300,000 for initial litigation expenses.
No permit needed
The operation of the casino, which was shut down last Sept. 19 upon the mayor’s order, reportedly did not need his permit.
Osmeña apparently gave a nod to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) when it decided to open its VIP Casino Filipino lounge at Rajah Park Hotel at the Fuente-Osmeña area five years ago.
This is why last Tuesday, Waz Lian Management Philippines, Inc. (WLMPI) and Myall Group Limited (MGL) filed a civil suit against the City of Cebu, Osmeña and Golez.
MGL owns majority of WLMPI, which is among the corporations that operate and trade slot machine arcades in the Philippines.
Grave abuse
The petitioners accused Osmeña of “grave abuse of power and authority” and of being “fixated to put petitioners’ business out of the way for the entry of their favored business proponents.”
They also asked the court to declare null the closure order that Osmeña penned to Squatters Prevention and Encroachment Elimination Division (Speed) chief Vicente Mercado to close the Casino Filipino lounge at Rajah Park Hotel.
The City claimed that Casino Filipino did not have a mayor’s certificate to operate, a Pagcor permit, a sanitary permit and a fire safety inspection certificate.
Arguments
However, the petitioners argued that the casino club at Rajah Park Hotel was exempted from the need for permits or license from the mayor, as it is operated by Pagcor, a government corporation separate from the local government unit (LGU).
Section 1 of Presidential Decree (PD) 771 revokes “the authority of chartered cities and other LGUs to issue license, permit or any form to franchise or operate, maintain and establish horse and dog race tracks, jai-alai or other forms of gambling.”
They added that the club is operated by Pagcor, not WLMPI or MGL.
WLMPI and MGL also argued that sanitary permits and fire inspection certificates are obligations of the building owner and not of the club, which is a lessee of the Rajah Park Hotel building owner.
“Petitioners assert further that there is no valid ground for the exercise of such closure order because there is no issue of public necessity, health and general welfare that would have justified its lawful issuance,” WLMPI and MGL stated in their 40-page petition.
They added that at least 50 employees of the casino were affected by the closure.
Response
In their petition, they attached a copy of their reply to a show-cause notice that Golez sent them last Aug. 29.
In their Sept. 12 reply, they stated that though Pagcor did not need a mayor’s permit to operate the casino, a letter of “courtesy and information” was still sent to Osmeña on June 16, 2003.
The mayor reportedly gave a written approval of the casino’s operations, on the condition that its operation will be limited to the hotel premises.
Osmeña had earlier said that he wants casino slot machines to operate in areas frequented by tourists. But the one in Rajah Park Hotel attracts more Cebuanos than tourists, he lamented.
The civil suit was raffled off to Regional Trial Court Judge Sylva Paderanga’s sala. (KAB)
