No red-carpet welcome

Here's another fellow who wants some respect. Macau's gambling tycoon, Stanley Ho, invited Philippine journalists to Hong Kong last week to announce that he was hurting from reports linking him to the Chinese triads and other criminal activities. If the Philippines didn't want him, Ho said, he was ready to relocate his investments. Since Catholic bishops and cause-oriented groups have been fulminating against him for several weeks, and several rallies have been staged to send his floating restaurant back to Hong Kong, what will convince Ho that the Philippines doesn't want him? A message from President Estrada, Ho said, something as straightforward as, "Stanley Ho, I cannot encourage you to invest here anymore."

As of yesterday, no such statement was forthcoming from Malacañang, although the President said he would not prevent Ho from pulling out of the Philippines. A spokesman for Ho clarified that the tycoon had no intention of withdrawing the $30 million he had invested in the controversial gaming firm BW Resources Corp., whose top official is under investigation for alleged stock price manipulation and insider trading. By the end of the month Ho will decide if he would keep his floating restaurant in Manila Bay. There's no word so far on his commitment to invest in the government's mass housing program -- one of the reasons he met with the President last year at Malacañang.

In Macau, gambling is probably a respectable undertaking. Ho's casino operations reportedly account for 40 percent of the revenues collected in the former Portuguese colony that was turned over to China last year. In this country, however, there is a continuing battle over legalized gambling, with the Catholic Church in the forefront of the opponents. The administration has been under fire for promoting legalized gambling, and Stanley Ho has simply been a magnet for additional criticism.

The Philippines welcomes and needs investors, but there are Filipinos who prefer to draw the line on investments that may breed criminality. Surely Ho did some background check on the Philippines and knew a casino mogul could not expect a red-carpet welcome here, despite all his money and papal awards. He has announced that he intends to promote tourism and won't bring his casinos here. Fine. But he can't blame Filipinos for being skeptical. Stanley Ho still has to prove himself in this country. If he can't take the heat, no one's stopping him from leaving.