CEBU City Mayor Michael Rama vetoed a resolution adopted by the Cebu City Council granting the request of a company to put up a poker room inside a satellite casino in one of the hotels in the city.
On May 22, members of the 12th Sangguniang Panlungsod approved the application of Cebu Grand Management Group Inc. (Poker Club) to put up a poker room at the Crown Regency Hotel in Fuente Osmeña as required by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor).
The council approved it following the endorsement from the committee on games, amusements and sports.
But Rama, in a July 4 letter to the council, expressed his objection. “Please be informed that consistent with my stand against any and all forms of gambling, I hereby return this resolution with objection,” the mayor said.
Consent
The mayor cited Section 10 of Republic Act 9487 or the Pagcor Charter, which states that the corporation should secure the consent of the local government unit when choosing a site for its operations.
During their regular session yesterday, the council referred Rama's letter to the council's committee on laws headed by Councilor Sisinio Andales.
City Councilor Gerardo Carillo said he moved to refer the mayor’s objection so that the committee on laws can determine whose approval is needed for activities like holding poker games.
He said he also wants the committee on laws to determine the relevance of the concurrence of the local government unit in the establishment of a gaming center.
Carillo said the committee should also report whether Rama's objection letter can be considered a veto or just a message to the council to reconsider the resolution it passed.
Rama, in his regular news conference yesterday, said that his letter was a veto of the resolution.
He said he objected to the opening of a poker room, saying that he doesn't want gambling to proliferate in the city.
