Capil denies extension office near POGO hub
ANGELES CITY – About a kilometer away from Thai Royal Court of the raided Philippine offshore gaming operation (POGO) Lucky South 99 Outsourcing Incorporated stands a dilapidated structure of an extension office of the local government of Porac.
But Porac Mayor Jaime Capil denied maintaining the said extension office. He said he never used it.
“The local government unit had planned to operate an extension office in that eastern part of Porac town so residents of Barangays Sta. Cruz and Manibaug will no longer have to go all the way to the municipal hall in Barangay Poblacion,” Capil said.
“The Porac LGU did not use the said building. We are awaiting the completion of the new municipal hall. We don’t really need an extension office because we have a new one. Malapit neng mayari,” he added.
The structure is located inside the same subdivision of the rogue POGO at the Royal Garden Estate – along with a number of villas occupied by residents as well as other derelict structures.
Capil’s associate confirmed that a signboard was installed by the Porac engineering department in 2023. However, they also removed it last year since the LGU junked the plan to utilize it.
Capil clarified that despite the presence of the building, it remained unused and non-operational.
The mayor said the abandoned structure was donated by the landowner, Ruperto Cruz, also in 2023. But Ruperto’s children opposed the plan to donate it to the local government, a source said.
Capil said there is an ongoing construction of a new municipal hall in Barangay Cangatba since 2022. It is set to be completed by 2025.