Quezon City candidate for mayor and current Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte has made her stance on a casino in her city a bit confusing. First she was for it, and now she doesn’t want her citizens to go to casinos. Now, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has announced that Belmonte should stay in her lane, and let them set regulations for gambling in the Philippines.

In a press statement release on March 12, PAGCOR has declared it “maintains its position that local government units (LGU) do not have the authority to regulate games of chance even in their localities. Instead, this function is a mandate of PAGCOR by virtue of its charter, Presidential Decree 1869.”

They go on to quote Presidential Decree Number 771, issued in 1975, which states in part that it “revokes the authority of LGUs to issue license permit or any form of franchise to operate, maintain and establish forms of gambling.”

They also quote a legal opinion from 1998 that restricts the authority to maintain gambling activities to the national government agencies, and specifically PAGCOR.