Groups of religious sector in Baguio and Benguet have expressed its opposition, again, on gambling, encouraging people to restrain in any form of gambling.
“In our concern for the common good, we exhort our people in Baguio and Benguet to abstain from all forms of gambling, be they legal or illegal, like jueteng, e-bingo, online gambling or casino,” the statement said.
The group includes the Baguio-Benguet Ecumenical Group, the Diocese of Baguio, the United Methodist Group, the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, the Episcopal Church in the Philippines, the Commission on Ecumenism of the Roman Catholic Church, the St. Stephen Lutheran Church, the Philippine Military Evangelical Church and the Assembly of God.
Last year, Baguio City Bishop Carlito Cenzon asked the local government to prevent the entrance of a casino or any gambling or gaming enterprise into the city and the province, saying that gambling “usually leads to an unhealthy lifestyle, later on financial problems, and social problems such as criminalities.”
Meanwhile in Manila, the government promotes casinos to boost tourism and the economy. Solaire, the first integrated resorts built in Manila, intensifies efforts to attract more high rollers; while the newly-opened Melco’s City of Dreams has welcomed 600,000 visitors and high occupancy rates since its December 15, 2014 soft opening. There are two more integrated resorts coming: Japan’s Universal Entertainment Corp’s $2 billion project expected to open in 2016 and Travellers International partners with Genting Hong Kong, which is expected to start operation in 2018.
On Monday, State-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR) announced a 5.05% year-on-year increase to PHP3.25 billion (US$73.7 million) in net income for 2014.
PAGCOR saw its revenue fell by 1.32% year-on-year to PHP39.99 billion, reporting a loss of PHP12.17 million on foreign exchange. The company’s gaming revenue, however, increased by 8.51% to PHP29.93 compared to 2013, still below 2014′s annual target of PHP31.02 billion.