Philippine gaming regulator PAGCOR said Thursday that it won’t have to shoulder the costs of renovations to some of its largest self-operated casinos, slamming in the process “disinformation from some quarters” is causing undue loss of morale by its employees.
The regulator’s statement follows a social media post by an employee which claimed PAGCOR is spending Php500 million (US$8.9 million) of its own money to renovate its Casino Filipino branch in Angeles City.
In response, PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco said, “There is absolutely no truth to [the] allegations because the renovations will be fully shouldered by the lessor. PAGCOR will not spend a single cent on the renovation.”
In the post, the employee said the renovation plan is meant to spruce up the branch so that it becomes attractive to prospective buyers when it is privatized.
Tengco responded that the renovation of the Angeles branch is part of PAGCOR’s commitment to provide better facilities and services to attract more customers and ensure the profitability of its operations.
“We do not own the building where Casino Filipino Angeles is located,” he said. “That is why we made arrangements with the lessor to shoulder the renovation expenses because they are the property owner, and PAGCOR is just the lessee.
“This is the same arrangement we are pursuing with our Casino Filipino branch in Bacolod as part of our overall efforts to make our casinos more attractive to customers which should benefit all of us at PAGCOR, as well as the government.”
As previously reported by IAG, the privatization of PAGCOR’s casinos is expected to start in the last quarter of 2025 at the earliest, which PAGCOR says will give the agency enough time to provide safety nets to those who will be affected.
Tengco also refuted claims that a total of 10,000 employees will lose their jobs in the privatization.
“That number is very misleading because the 10,000-employee count is our total workforce,” he said. “We are not disbanding PAGCOR; we are only shedding off our casino operations but many workers will remain in regulatory, enforcement, monitoring and electronic gaming licensing units, to name a few.
“I therefore appeal to our employees not to swallow all the lies being peddled by some disgruntled people. We are here to look after your welfare, but you need to allow us to do our job.”
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