The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. has sought an exemption from the spending ban imposed by the Commission on Elections ahead of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls in October.
Pagcor vice president for Corporate Social Responsibility Group Ramon Stephen Villaflor said their legal department filed a request for exemption before the poll body two weeks ago but Comelec has yet to respond.
“There is ongoing (unrest) activity at Mayon Volcano, and we are also anticipating typhoons. We still have one-and-a-half months to go before the elections. We cannot tell the typhoons not to enter the country,” Villaflor said.
“With the ban, we cannot distribute relief assistance and go on with our existing projects that need the second or third tranche [of allocated budget]. We cannot process the release [of funds for these projects],” he added.