The Quezon City council will welcome petitions before any court questioning a proposed ordinance on regulated gambling, if passed.
In an interview, District 4 Councilor Ivy Xenia Lagman said: “I won’t mind if someone is opposing the measure.”
“It is a welcome development if there is someone who would question the measure,” Lagman told the Manila Standard, when asked what the council would do once a petition for a temporary restraining order is filed.
“That would just be fine. That way, we will be able to know their [true] sentiments about the measure,” she added.
Lagman clarified she is not pushing for a casino to be established in the city. “But it is our job to legislate and impose strict regulations on any forms of gambling,” she added.
The solon said she is not taking District 2 Councilor Ranulfo Ludovica’s stance of strongly opposing the ordinance against him.
“I respect them. It is best to engage in a healthy discussion. After that, we are okay (and friends) again,” Lagman said.
Ludovica, in a previous interview, said gambling cannot be regulated, and that the city council’s proposed measure, once passed, could face a court battle for imposing an entrance fee of P500 per person for e-games parlors and P1,500 fee per person for casino.
He said the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.’s charter would not allow a local government to collect taxes and impose any other fees.
However, Lagman said: “We are coming up with such measure, not only for the purpose of a casino operation in the city but for all forms of gambling.”
Under the measure, a casino cannot be built without the issuance of a special permit from the city council.
As far as she is concerned, Lagman said billionaire Enrique Razon of Bloomberry Resorts Corp., the operator of Solaire Resort in Parañaque City, has already acquired a franchise to build a casino in Quezon City from Pagcor “two chairpersons ahead of Pagcor chairperson Andrea Domingo.”
She noted the city government has not yet received a formal application from Bloomberry.
The city council is legislating an ordinance on regulated gambling not because of the planned establishment of a P20-billion resort casino on Vertis North, Agham Road in 2018, Lagman said, “but because we do not want to be caught unawares of the situation just in case a casino is put up.”
The proposed measure on regulated gambling will be remanded for second reading to include small-town lottery issue raised by Ludovica, Lagman said.