Saturday, September 27, 2008
Law casino cited already obsolete: City Hall lawyers
WHETHER the corporations providing slot machines to a casino in Cebu City have the right to question the club’s closure is a question that the court still has to settle.
Lawyers for the Cebu City Government yesterday moved to dismiss the case filed by two foreign corporations leasing slot machines to the casino at a hotel in Fuente Osmeña.
But Felix Chan, lawyer for Waz Lian Management Philippines, Inc. (WLMPI) and Myall Group Limited (MGL), invoked “humanitarian grounds” in asking the court to consider its plea.
About 15 employees of the casino trooped to Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Sylva Aguirre-Paderanga’s sala yesterday to attend the hearing on the civil case.
The civil case filed by WLMPI and MGL asked for nullity of Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s closure order, mandatory injunction and at least P2 million in damages.
Employees
They also asked the court to allow the casino to resume its operations while the case is still being heard in court, saying its operation will not do any damage to the mayor and to the city.
At least 80 employees have been jobless for a week, since City Hall closed the casino and padlocked its slot machines last Sept. 19.
But if any entity has the right to question the closure, it is Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor), which operates the said casino, said City Hall lawyer Ralph Sevilla.
Amusement
Sevilla was among those who represented the respondents - the City of Cebu, Mayor Osmeña and City Attorney Rodolfo Golez.
“The court cannot grant as yet any relief because the petitioner still has to establish its right,” judge Paderanga said yesterday.
Sevilla said that the WLMPI and MGL based their argument for exemption from a mayor’s permit on a decree penned during the Martial Law era, a law that has already been amended.
Republic Act 9487, which was approved on Feb. 19, 2007, amends section 10 of the Pagcor Charter, which was enacted on July 11, 1983.
While the Pacgcor Charter exempts it from seeking permit from the concerned local government unit (LGU) to franchise and operate “gambling casinos, clubs, and other recreation or amusement places, sports, gaming pools”, RA 9487 contains an amending clause.
“Provided, that the corporation (Pagcor) shall obtain the consent of the local government unit that has territorial jurisdiction over the area chosen as the site for any of its operations,” argued Sevilla, quoting RA 9487.
However, Sevilla added, the law grants an exemption to three-star hotels accredited by Department of Tourism. He doubted, though, that the hotel in question falls under that criterion.
Equipment
Lawyer Benjamin Militar, representing Osmeña, also questioned whether MGL, through WLMPI, really could franchise gambling equipment in the Philippines.
He said that MGL, a foreign company, owns majority of WLMPI, according to their civil complaint.
Militar pointed out that the “negative list” of the Foreign Investments Act of 1991 limits foreign companies’ ownership of the slot machine supply to Pagcor to 40 percent of the capital.
However, Chan repeatedly pleaded the court to allow the casino to resume its operations while the case is being tried, saying it was in the interest of “justice and public welfare”.
Chan added that, being a lessee of the Pagcor-operated casino, it was greatly affected by the closure and thus filed the civil suit. (KAB)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (September 27, 2008 issue)
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