Government spokesman: Don’t test Duterte
Macau gaming giant Galaxy Entertainment Group and its Philippine development partner, Leisure and Resorts World Corp., say they have not abandoned plans to build an integrated resort on the holiday island of Boracay—despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s assertion that the resort is not open to casino development.
In March, armed with a provisional casino license from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. granted to LWRC, Galaxy announced its plan to develop a US$300 million (MOP2.42 billion) to US$500 million casino resort with 60 gaming tables on the island.
That plans remains in force, said Katrina Nepomuceno, vice president for legal affairs of LRWC, at the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting. “Where am I getting the confidence? Because the president has also said he wants to maintain Boracay as a prime tourist destination aside from the fact that he also talked about agrarian reform. The fact remains there is a property and our partner has a license.”
The Philippine Business Mirror quoted presidential spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr., who warned, “No private entity should test the political will of the president.” Roque said the provisional license does not give it a green light to develop on the island.
“I would hope they will respect that as part of the executive branch’s power, noting that the provisional license is not a license itself,” said Roque. “It is conditional. It is provisional. It is subject to happening of conditions, which will never be fulfilled because the president has said that he will not allow it.”
Even so, according to Philippines Lifestyle News, Nepomuceno said the companies have been working on initial plans for the resort development and are discussing those plans with the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
That conflicts with orders that came down in April from President Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte closed the holiday island for an environmental cleanup, then declared that no casinos would be built there, ever. Duterte called the island “a cesspool,” referring to untreated wastewater allegedly dumped into the ocean by hotels and other businesses. He added that when the cleanup is complete, Boracay will be an agricultural site, not a casino destination.
Following a planned six-month rehabilitation of the holiday destination, Duterte said the land will go to the “people who need it most,” local residents who include farmers. “I don’t have plans there for casinos,” said the president. “There are enough, there are too many. Casino here, casino there.”
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Fatima Romulo Puyat added her two cents, saying, “The president recently reiterated his earlier position against the entry of casino operators in Boracay. This is in line with the desire of the Department of Tourism and tourism stakeholders in Boracay to further develop the island as a sustainable and family-oriented destination. The president’s stand has not changed.”
