TLDR
- PAGCOR plans to sell about 40 Casino Filipino branches and satellite venues through an asset sale.
- A legal analysis from Geronimo Law says the sale structure means buyers are not required to keep current staff.
- Mandatory staff retention rules could lead to lower bids from buyers.
- Employees may face three outcomes: redeployment within PAGCOR, hiring by the buyer, or separation with benefits.
- The deal still needs approval from the Governance Commission for GOCCs and the Philippine president, with a year-end target.
PAGCOR is moving forward with a plan to sell off its Casino Filipino venues. The state gaming firm controls around 40 branches and satellite locations across the Philippines.
A new legal analysis looks at what this sale could mean for the people who work there. The paper comes from Philippine law firm Geronimo Law and was first reported by the Manila Bulletin.
The review focuses on one key detail. PAGCOR is structuring this as an asset sale, not a sale of company shares.
How the Deal Structure Affects Workers
That distinction matters a lot for employees. In an asset sale, buyers are not legally required to take on existing staff.
Instead, employment would generally end on PAGCOR’s side. Any worker claims would go against PAGCOR, not the company buying the venues.
Still, buyers may want to keep some employees around. Geronimo Law points out that trained casino staff, like dealers, surveillance officers, and slot technicians, are hard to find.
Even so, the law firm expects buyers to be picky. Full staff absorption is unlikely, and bidders are expected to push back against any rule that forces them to hire everyone.
Possible Outcomes for PAGCOR Employees
If a mandatory hiring rule does end up in the final bid terms, it could change the numbers. Geronimo Law says this kind of requirement would likely lead to lower offers, with buyers only picking up the most in-demand job roles.
The analysis lays out three paths for current staff. Some could be moved to other roles within PAGCOR.
Others could be hired directly by whoever buys the venues. A third group could be separated from PAGCOR entirely, receiving retirement and separation pay.
Any rule requiring buyers to take on part of the workforce would not come from existing labor law. It would instead be written into the bidding terms and the asset purchase agreement itself.
This detail matters for job history too. Workers who do get hired by a new private operator would start a fresh employment relationship.
Their years of service at PAGCOR would not automatically carry over. That would only happen if the sale documents specifically say so.
For workers who are not absorbed or redeployed, PAGCOR would handle their separation. The buyer would carry no responsibility for those employees.
There is also a legal layer specific to PAGCOR staff. Because they are civil servants, any staff reduction has to follow civil service rules that apply to government reorganizations.
The sale itself is still in progress. It remains under review by the Governance Commission for Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations, the body that oversees state firms.
Final approval will also need to come from the Philippine president. PAGCOR chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco has said he wants the sale finished by the end of this year, pending that approval process.
