Chair and CEO of PAGCOR, the Philippines state-controlled gaming company and regulator, Andrea Domingo, has confirmed that support for the victims of December’s tropical cyclone Typhoon Odette has “poured in” from the country’s casino licensees.
Operators in Manila’s Entertainment City and Clark, alongside the PAGCOR, have sent assistance to residents of areas hit especially hard. PAGCOR delivered a total of 9,000 relief packages and non-food items to the second district of Surigao del Norte, first district of Cebu City, Puerto Princesa, Palawan and Maribojoc, Bohol. In addition, more than 8,000 packages are scheduled for delivery to Leyte, Southern Leyte, Siargao, Cebu and Misamis Oriental.
Moreover, Solaire’s Bloomberry Cultural Foundation Inc (BCFI) allotted PHP50m ($974,887) for the purchase and delivery of relief goods to badly-hit communities in Visayas and Mindanao. The BCFI and its volunteer employees also provided more than 12,300 family packages, as well as water, to displaced residents in Siargao Island.
Domingo remarked on the support offered by PAGCOR’s casino licensees, saying: “Days after the onslaught of Typhoon Odette, they reached out to us for their disaster relief efforts through their respective charitable arms, which we immediately approved. Under PAGCOR’s mandate, our licensees must establish foundations which will undertake the establishment of health and educational infrastructure, culture development, relief aid and other similar undertakings. The lockdowns, movement restrictions and temporary closure of gaming operations have tremendously affected our revenues, but PAGCOR and our licensed casinos will continue to support the Government in helping filipinos in need,”
