10/08/2025
BARANGAYS CAN RUN BINGO GAMES TO RAISE FUNDS SANS PAGCOR PERMITāSUPREME COURT
| The Supreme Court (SC) upheld the local autonomy of barangays in holding games as fundraising activities even without securing permits or clearance from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor).
In a 15-page decision written by Associate Justice Jose Midas Marquez, the SC's En Banc said that barangay councils do not need clearances from Pagcor to allow the operation of bingo games in their respective jurisdictions.
The decision affirmed the rights of Barangays Trancoville, Outlook Drive, and Military Cut-off in Baguio City to hold bingo as barangay events to raise funds for barangay projects, citing the local autonomy provision as prescribed by the 1987 Constitution.
The case stemmed from the resolutions passed by the above-mentioned barangays, which made bingo games official barangay fundraiser events. However, during one event, Baguio City police arrested barangay officials for allegedly violating Presidential Decree No. 1602, or the Anti-Gambling Law.
This prompted the Association of Barangay Councils of Baguio to file a petition before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) seeking a declaration that the bingo games were a valid exercise of barangay authority.
Meanwhile, the Republic of the Philippines countered the same, as it contends that only the national government, through the Pagcor, has the power to regulate gambling, including bingo games.
The RTC and Court of Appeals (CA) ruled in favor of the barangays, stating that they were authorized under the Local Government Code of 1991 (LGC) to conduct bingo fundraisers for community projects without national or local permits.
Voting 11-4, the high court affirmed the said ruling and declared that barangays are autonomous; as such, they may use bingo games to raise funds. It cited Section 10 of Republic Act No. 9487, or the amended Pagcor Charter of 2007, which explicitly excludes games of chance, cards, and numbers authorized and regulated by local government units from Pagcor's authority to regulate.
The same law also extended Pagcorās franchise for another 25 years but made reservations that its authority to regulate public and private gaming requires āthe consent of the local government unit that has territorial jurisdiction over the area chosen as the site for any of its operations.ā
Meanwhile, four magistrates dissented from the majority opinion, namely Associate Justices Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, Amy Lazaro-Javier, Henri Jean Paul Inting, and Maria Filomena Singh.
Associate Justice Caguioa, in his dissenting opinion, said that barangays have no authority over bingo games under the PAGCOR Charter, even as a fund-raising activity.