Attack inquiry continues
The owner of Travellers International Hotel Group, which owns and operates Resorts World Manila, finally appeared before the Philippine House of Representatives last week to discuss the June 2 attack at the casino hotel. A lone gunman started fires that killed more than three dozen people at the property in Manila’s Entertainment City.
According to the Philippine Inquirer, Chua failed to attend the first two hearings on the deadly attack; he reportedly was out of the country during a June 11 hearing, according to Resorts World Manila President Kingson Sian.
That wasn’t good enough for Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Farinas, who subpoenaed Chua and threatened him with arrest if he failed to appear for the next House probe. “It’s up to him,” Farinas said. “What comes after is a warrant of arrest.”
The threat worked, and on June 21Chua appeared before lawmakers to ask permission to resume operations at the property; Resorts World’s license was suspended following the attack.
“This is a tragic wake-up call, not just for us,” he said in his testimony. “We hope that through the assistance of Congress and other government agencies, we can start the painful and difficult task of rebuilding, as it is also our task to take care of our 6,000 personnel.”
The gunman was identified as Jessie Javier Carlos, reportedly a problem gambler who had been placed on a casino exclusion list by his family. Carlos entered the casino June 2 and attempted to steal gambling chips before setting fires to tables on the main gaming floor, reported GGRAsia. Thirty-six patrons and employees died of smoke inhalation and many more were injured. Carlos also died at the scene of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
During his appearance, Chua appealed to lawmakers to consider the $1.3 billion investment he’s already made in the Entertainment City property, as well as ongoing investments in Resorts World Westside City and the 25,000 direct and indirect jobs that have been created for the developments. He also offered condolences to the relatives of the dead.
“Allow me to express our deepest sympathies to the families of those who perished and were injured,” he said. “I would like to assure you that the safety and security are key priorities of Resorts World Manila, an international brand owned by global conglomerates and benchmarked against international standards. As such, we will never compromise safety and security because it will impact on our stakeholders.”
Macau has taken note of the tragedy and its implications for other gaming jurisdictions. Paulo Martins Chan, director of the city’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, called it “an urgent matter,” even while insisting there is a low risk to the city’s casinos, the Macau Daily Times reports. Chan indicated the city would take security even more seriously, and has called for casino operators to submit detailed reports on their individual security safeguards.
“According to the police’s evaluation, we are still at a relatively low risk of attack. That’s why our customers are still welcome to come to Macau and relax here and enjoy the atmosphere,” he said. “The Judiciary Police will look at these reports from a technical point of view and afterwards, we will have a meeting with the six operators again and see what we can do, and what should be improved,” he said.
