Thunderbird Resorts asserts legality of operations

Thunderbird Resorts Philippines has slammed the claim of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) that it has been operating casinos without a license since 2009, adding that it will pursue all necessary legal remedies to protect its investments and employees.

The company said in a statement that both Eastbay Resorts Inc. and Thunderbird Pilipinas Hotels and Resorts Inc., its resorts in Rizal and Poro Point, had “current written contracts with licensing rights in place with Pagcor,” rebutting the government firm’s claims that these contracts lapsed in August 2009.

As proof of the validity of these contracts, Thunderbird said Pagcor had never ceased from accepting its tax and licensing fee payments since the resorts started operating in 2005.

To date, Thunderbird’s Rizal and Poro Point resorts had remitted more than P2.5 billion in gaming taxes.

Also, the resort and casino operator said that despite claims that the contracts expired in August 2009, Pagcor continued to place casino monitoring teams within Thunderbird’s premises “and has continuously treated our facilities as validly operating casinos.”

The company related that should Pagcor succeed in closing its operations down due to false allegations, the negative impact would not only be felt by the investor, Panama-based Thunderbird Resorts Inc., but also by the more than 1,300 individuals working in the two resorts.

Pagcor advised the two Thunderbird resorts that they would be shut down by June 3 unless they agree to new provisions in their authority to operate.

Thunderbird sought a temporary restraining order against the closure, which the court granted. The resort operator initially secured a three-day TRO, which was extended on June 7 and 8 by another 17 days.