Duterte says no to casinos, yes to clean-up in Boracay

FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, TOTO LOZANO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

The President stressed on Monday, April 9, that his order was to clean-up Boracay and not to allow the building of casinos there.

“Unless there is a law or a proclamation of the President setting aside anything there, any inch of land maybe, then that for all those people to come in. In the meantime, there’s no plan. My order was to clean it up,” President Rodrigo Roa Duterte said in a press conference in Davao before his flight to China.

“Master plan? Wala akong master plan d’yan, linisin ko muna ‘yan kasi agricultural ‘yan (I do not have a master plan there, I just ordered to clean it up because that is agricultural),” the President added.

Duterte earlier ordered the closure of the paradise island to give way to its cleaning because of its sewerage and environmental problems.

Apart from the tourism industry, other industries like hotel and restaurant services and other businesses will suffer from the tourist destination’s closure.

Last March, the government’s gaming regulator confirmed that it granted Macau casino giant Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. a provisional license to build a casino in a 23-hectare-land in Boracay. Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) even defended that this casino project has no relation to the administration’s call for Boracay’s closure.

(Read: PAGCOR says license to Galaxy not connected with Boracay closure)

“I see no relationship in that because, again, it’s on the other side… of the area that was closed by the government,” PAGCOR chief Andrea Domingo said.

However, it looks like Duterte has a different plan.

“Walang plano diyang casino-casino. Tama na iyan kasi sobra na. May casino dito, casino doon (There are no plans of casinos. That is too much. There are casinos everywhere),” the President said in the press conference.

He also insisted that Boracay should be considered as a land reform area.

“So maybe after that [clean up], I’ll give the farmers… i-land reform ko na ‘yan (I will land reform it). I tell you now i-land reform ko lahat ‘yan (I will land reform it) then I’ll give it to the farmers,” he continued.

Duterte then asserted that the government owns the land.

“Sasabihin ninyo (You may ask), how about the business there? I’m sorry but that is the law. The law syas that it is a forest land, agricultural.

Why would I deviate from that? Do I have a good reason to do that?” he said.

He added, “I never said building anything or even a nipa hut there. What I said is that [the] island itself was owned by the government. I’ve said it before, (that is) agricultural ‘yan, pati (also) forestal.”