PAGCOR Opens First Dedicated Village Project to Offer Safe Housing

PAGCOR or the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation has made good on its promise to deliver on various good causes and social campaigns. The gaming watchdog has just launched the PAGCOR Village in Lemery, Batangas, which is the first of more similar projects to follow. The main purpose of the Village is to provide safe housing for people who were impacted by the eruption of the Taal Volcano back in January 2020.

First PAGCOR “Village” Project Arrives in the Philippines

Since the Philippines have been known to suffer from nature’s elements, there have been concentrated efforts to direct funding to relief funds. PAGCOR came through during the pandemic, proving an important financing backbone for the health industry, and is now delivering on an earlier promise as well. Commenting on this development PAGCOR CEO and chairwoman Andrea Domingo has reaffirmed that the company is doubling down on corporate social responsibility and plans to launch similar projects in the future as well.

The present project costs PHP30 million or $574,000 and has been established thanks to the tax gambling revenue raised by PAGCOR over the last couple of years. While the regulator had to shut down e-sabong contests, citing spreading crime and backing from former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, the organization is in good financial standing and expects to pick up. PAGCOR has also worked on other similar objectives, investing in multipurpose evacuation centers.

The most recent one that opened was worth PHP80 million or $1.50 million and is called the Barangay Pancipit Children’s Park. Overall, PAGCOR has allocated a total of $35.60 million or PHP1.87 billion to build numerous MPECs across the country.

Funding to Social Causes Continues as PAGCOR Collects More

There are 76 locations that have already been approved and are waiting to either finish or start construction. While PAGCOR is still interested in generating a good bit of revenue, it also focuses on the socio-economic commitments it has made.

Essentially, the regulator is interested in collecting as much revenue as possible to fuel various government projects. The first-quarter results met and exceeded this goal with operations seeing a significant 35% year-over-year increase in their revenue. As PAGCOR is happy to tout its successful social commitments, the Philippines is still facing risks from various natural disasters.

The eruption of the Taal Volcano may not be a one-off thing, some fear. In fact, the Taal Volcano has erupted 30 times so far, and it’s one of the most active volcanoes in the country.