WHAT IS PAGCOR?

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is a 100 percent government-owned and controlled corporation that runs under the direct supervision of the Office of the President of the Republic of the Philippines.

The Corporation was created during the Martial Law years by virtue of a Presidential Decree (PD1067-A) issued by then President Ferdinand Marcos in response to calls for the Philippine Government to put a stop to the growing proliferation of illegal casino operations in various parts of the country then. The law creating PAGCOR was later amended and consolidated by PD 1869 otherwise known as the PAGCOR Charter.

Under its Charter, PAGCOR was given a three-pronged mandate:

In June 2007, Republic Act No. 9487 was passed by the Philippine Congress, extending the corporate life of the state-run gaming firm by 25 years, renewable for another 25 years, and prescribing the following amendments to the PAGCOR Charter:

WHAT ARE THE CASINOS RUN BY PAGCOR?

PAGCOR operates 13 casino branches in major cities across the country’s three major islands. Collectively called Casino Filipino, these branches are strategically located in areas that are popular tourist destinations:

	Area Name Location Metro Manila Casino Filipino Heritage   Casino Filipino Hyatt-Manila     Casino Filipino Parañaque     Casino Filipino Pavilion The Heritage Hotel, EDSA cor. Roxas Blvd., Pasay City   Hyatt Hotel and Casino, A. Mabini cor. Pedro Gil Sts., Malate, Manila   PIRC Bldg., Ninoy Aquino Ave., Bgy. Sto. Niño, Parañaque City   Waterfront Manila (formerly Manila Pavilion Hotel), UN Ave., Ermita, Manila   Luzon Casino Filipino Angeles   Casino Filipino Mimosa   Casino Filipino Olongapo   Casino Filipino Tagaytay   Casino Filipino Laoag McArthur Highway, Balibago, Angeles City, Pampanga   Mimosa Drive, Clark Field, Pampanga   30 Magsaysay Avenue, Olongapo City, Zambales   E. Aguinaldo Highway, Tagaytay City   Fort Ilocandia Resort Hotel, Laoag City, Ilocos Norte Visayas & Mindanao Casino Filipino Bacolod     Casino Filipino Cebu     Casino Filipino Mactan     Casino Filipino Davao Casino Filipino Hotel & Casino, Goldenfields Commercial Complex, Singkang Bacolod City   Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino, Salinas Drive, Lahug, Cebu City   Waterfront Airport Hotel and Casino Mactan Hotel, #1 Airport Rd., Lapu-Lapu City   Grand Regal Hotel Davao, Km. 7, Lanang, Davao City

These casino outlets showcase the best of the Filipino culture and heritage while providing world-class gaming/entertainment and Asia’s friendliest service.

Guests can have fun placing their bets in any of the international games offered like baccarat, blackjack, roulette, craps, big & small, pai gow, stud poker, and pontoon, among others. Aside from these, guests can also try their luck in the wide array of top-of-the-line slot machines manufactured by renowned international suppliers like Aristocrat, IGT, Konami, Williams and Bally.

12 of the PAGCOR casinos also hold regular and big-pot bingo games. Aside from these fun-filled games, Casino Filipino is also home exciting musical productions and concerts featuring some of the best Original Pilipino Music (OPM) artists.

HOW DOES PAGCOR'S ORGANIZATION WORK?

All policies for implementation and general directions to be taken by PAGCOR are under the responsibility of a five-man Board of Directors duly appointed by the President of the Philippines.

Following are the Board Members chosen by President Benigno Simeon Aquino III to ensure that PAGCOR's administration during his term will subscribe to his commitment to transparency, integrity and good governance:

The day-to-day operations of PAGCOR in its Corporate Offices and Casino Filipino Branches are manned by 11,369 employees (data as of January 31, 2011). Aside from having its internal auditing group, PAGCOR's operations are also subject to the scrutiny of the government's watchdog, the Commission on Audit (COA), which ensures - among others - that every centavo earned and spent by the corporation are fully accounted for.

HOW MUCH REVENUE DOES PAGCOR GENERATE?

PAGCOR derives bulk of its income from the winnings of the gaming tables and slot machine operations in different casinos and arcades. In 2011, the state-owned gaming firm’s total revenues reached a whopping P36.65 billion, a P5.19 billion or 16.52% growth compared to its total income of P31.46 billion in 2010.

PAGCOR also remitted portions of its net income to other legal beneficiaries like the President’s Social Fund, the Board of Claims, host cities and the socio-civic projects of the government.

PAGCOR is the third largest revenue-generating arm of the Philippine government, next to the BIR and Bureau of Customs.

WHERE DOES PAGCOR INCOME GO?

In accordance with its Charter and other governing laws, PAGCOR earnings are distributed as follows:

		5 percent of winnings goes to the BIR as franchise tax;
		50 percent of the 95 percent balance goes to the National Treasury as the National Government's mandated income share;
		5 percent of the balance after the franchise tax and the National Government's mandated income share goes to the Philippine Sports Commission for financing of the country's sports development programs;
		1 percent of the net income goes to the Board of Claims, an agency under the Department of Justice, which compensates victims of wrongful detention and prosecution;
		Cities hosting PAGCOR casinos are given fixed amount for their respective community development projects;

Aside from these, PAGCOR has also been tapped to provide funds for the implementation of vital laws such as the Early Childhood Care and Development program which basically promotes pre-school education and the Sports Incentives and Benefits Act which provides monetary rewards to athletes who win in international sports competitions.

The remaining balance of PAGCOR’s income is remitted to the Social Fund to sustain the priority projects of the Office of the President.

Under its incumbent leadership, PAGCOR plans to support projects related to the upliftment of the quality of education in the country through the construction of classrooms and school buildings, assistance for the promotion of the country’s health programs, and the Pasig River Rehabilitation project.

ENTERTAINMENT CITY PROJECT

PAGCOR is currently reviewing the Entertainment City. The project's site is along the reclaimed portion of the Boulevard area, and the plan is to develop an integrated resort, leisure and entertainment complex that will provide investment opportunities and world-class tourist attractions.

The project site spans 961,937 square meters at the bay area of Paranaque City plus 141,250 square meters at the Aseana Business Park and Mall of Asia Complex. Of the project's total land area, 561,937 square meters was bought by PAGCOR.

Four proponents were awarded provisional licenses by PAGCOR for possible developments in the area. Each has committed to invest at least ONE BILLION US DOLLARS for the Project. Given the commitments made by the proponents, the total cost of developing the Entertainment City project would amount to at least 5 billion US Dollars.

WHAT ARE THE CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PROGRAMS OF PAGCOR?

Under its new management, PAGCOR brings basic social services closer to the Filipino masses. The agency conducts medical/dental missions in the poorest of the poor and indigenous communities nationwide, and implements disaster/relief missions during natural disasters. From August 2010 to May 2011, PAGCOR has served 13,124 beneficiaries nationwide.

PAGCOR also has a Feeding Program intended to augment the existing programs of the Philippine government through partnership with the Philippines’ Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Education (DepEd). Under the program, PAGCOR subsidizes the nutritional needs of underweight children from community-based day care centers and public elementary schools nationwide. Its partners, meanwhile, identify the program beneficiaries and periodically assess their development within a five-month period, until the children reach their ideal weight.

From November 2010 up to February 2011, PAGCOR has subsidized 5,756 underweight schoolchildren. Since it started in 2008, about 25,000 undernourished pupils have benefited from the program.

PAGCOR also gave financial support to the KapitBisig sa Ilog Pasig (KBPIP), a project spearheaded by the ABS-CBN Foundation, together with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Pasig Rehabilitation Commission. The project aims to rehabilitate and clean the Pasig River from 2009-2015, with the Estero de Paco as its pilot site.

Moreover, PAGCOR undertakes various projects to promote education. One is the conversion of used slot machine stands into school desks for donation to different public schools. A total of 450 (2-seater and 3-seater) desk units were already donated to six elementary schools in Cavite, Taguig and Pateros. More than 1,100 students have benefitted from the project.

PAGCOR also partnered with the Department of Environment and natural Resources (DENR), DepEd and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) for the “P-Noy Bayanihan, A Partnership for Education and Livelihood” project. PAGCOR will give an initial funding of P100 million for the project to fast-track the production of school furniture out of confiscated logs by the DENR.

Also in the works are PAGCOR’s plans to build 1,000 classrooms nationwide and the E-Kawayan project which will make use of bamboos as materials for school chairs/desks.