PAGCOR shutters Fort Ilocandia’s casino

By Leilanie G. Adriano

Staff reporter

LAOAG CITY—Following the “personal arrest order” of President Rodrigo R. Duterte to arrest Fort Ilocandia Resort and Casino (FIRC) owner Jack Lam, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) closed the FIRC casino on December 5, 2016.

Mr. Lam, a Macau-based casino tycoon, also operates Fontana Leisure Parks and Casino at the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga, which was earlier raided by combined Philippine security forces.

Lawyer Jayson Bader Ll. Perrera, FIRC legal consultant, confirmed the closure also on December 5, 2016, saying the firm complied with the order despite the absence of a formal directive.

He, however, clarified that the closure was temporary.

Mr. Duterte had ordered the arrest of Lam for allegedly attempting to bribe government officials, including Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre and Pagcor chair Andrea Domingo, and for economic sabotage.

But records showed that a certain Lam Yin Lok, Mr. Lam’s known Chinese name, left the country on November 29, 2016 for Hong Kong, barely four days after 1,316 Chinese nationals were arrested by immigration agents at the Fontana Leisure Park and Casino Hotel at Clark for overstaying and other violations.

Fontana Leisure is an affiliate of FIRC. The whole hotel has also been ordered closed after the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) suspended its certificate of registration and tax exemption. The suspension was ordered pending the investigation of Mr. Lam’s online gaming operations at the Pampanga hotel.

According to Mr. Perrera, Mr. Lam was last seen at the FIRC about two months ago.

Earlier this year, authorities conducted a raid inside FIRC which resulted in the arrest of some Chinese nationals who were accused of online gambling but their cases were dismissed due to lack of evidence, Mr. Perrera confirmed.

Over the years, Chinese tourists visit Laoag City via chartered flights and are all billeted at the FIRC.

“Our Chinese visitors (at the FIRC) are well-documented Chinese. They come and go at the Fort Ilocandia,” said Mr. Perrera saying due to influx of Chinese tourists visiting Laoag and nearby Vigan City, the management of FIRC even took over the management of the provincial government-owned Plaza Del Norte and Convention Center here.

Admittedly, Mr. Perrera said the temporary closure of the Fort Ilocandia casino would obviously affect casino lovers but the hotel offers a lot of facilities aside from this.

Comments

Empanada festival: A celebration of good taste and good life

By Dominic B. dela Cruz & Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporters BATAC CITY—If there is one thing Batac is truly proud of, it would be its famous empanada-making business that has nurtured its people over the years. Embracing a century-old culture and culinary tradition, Batac’s empanada claims to be the best and tastiest in the country with its distinctive Ilokano taste courtesy of its local ingredients: fresh grated papaya, mongo, chopped longganisa, and egg. The crispy orange wrapper and is made of rice flour that is deep-fried. The celebration of this city’s famous traditional fast food attracting locals and tourists elsewhere comes with the City Charter Day of Batac every 23 rd of June. Every year, the City Government of Batac led by Mayor Jeffrey Jubal Nalupta commemorate the city’s charter day celebration to further promote its famous One-Town, One Product, the Batac empanada. Empanada City The Batac empanada festival has already become...

Free dormitories eyed for Nueva Era students in LC, Batac

Nueva Era mayor Aldrin Garvida By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Nueva Era , Ilocos Norte—The municipal government here, headed by Nueva Era mayor Aldrin Garvida is planning to establish dormitories in the cities of Laoag and Batac that will exclusively cater to college students from the said cities. “Sapay la kuma ta maituloyen iti mabiit tay ar-arapaapen tayo ken iti munisipyo a maipatakderan kuma dagiti annak tayo a college students nga agbasbasa idiay siyudad iti Batac ken Laoag iti libre a dormitoryo a bukod da ngem inggana nga awan pay ket an-anusan mi paylaeng nga ibaklay kenni apo bise mayor iti pagbayad da iti kasera aggapu iti bukod mi a suweldo malaksid dagitay it-ited iti munisipyo ken iti barangay nga stipend da kada semester, ” Garvida said. Garvida added that the proposed establishment of dormitories would be a big help to the students’ parents as this would shoulder the expenses of their children for rent and likewise they would feel...

P29 per kilo rice sold to vulnerable groups in Ilocos region

BBM RICE. Residents buy rice for only PHP29 per kilo at the NIA compound in San Nicolas town, Ilocos Norte province on Sept. 13, 2024. The activity was under a nationwide pilot program of the government to sell quality and affordable rice initially to the vulnerable sectors. (Lei Adriano) San Nicolas , Ilocos Norte —Senior citizens, persons with disability, and solo parents availed of cheap rice sold at PHP29 per kilogram during the grand launching of the Bagong Bayaning Magsasaka (BBM) Rice held at the National Irrigation Administration compound in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte province on Sept. 13, 2024. “ Maraming salamat Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. sa inyong pagmamahal sa Region 1 lalong-lalo na sa bayan namin sa San Nicolas,” said Violeta Pasion, a resident Brgy. 18 Bingao in this town. The low-priced grains were sourced from the National Irrigation Administration’s (NIA) contract farming with irrigators' association members in the province. Along with Pasion, Epi...

The Ilocos Times

Search This Blog