Firm stops taking bets to protect its workers

RAUL Banderas, spokesperson of the Meridien Vista Gaming Corp. (MVGC), said the firm has voluntarily stopped bet collection for jai alai games after Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo ordered the police to go all out against its operations.

Robredo had given MVGC a permit to operate in Naga City when he was mayor there.

“We no longer wanted to fight it out and place the safety of our employees at risk,” Banderas said by telephone.

But MVGC’s jai alai games at the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport in Sta. Ana, Cagayan, will continue, he said.

“Those who worked for our stoppage disregarded the lives of about 30,000 of our employees who would lose their jobs,” said Banderas.

He said the company’s bet collection activities cover about 12 provinces in the Ilocos (Region 1), Cordillera, Cagayan Valley (Region 2), Southern Tagalog (Region 4), Bicol (Region 5) and Metro Manila in Luzon, as well as in Central Visayas (Region 7) and Eastern Visayas (Region 8).