DOT: Galaxy now seeking other venues for casino project

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism on Tuesday said a Macau-based casino giant is no longer its casino-resort project on Boracay island.

Tourism Assistant Secretary Frederick Alegre, department spokesperson, made the confirmation at a Palace press briefing on Boracay.

"Galaxy has said they are now looking for another venue. That is very much welcome," Alegre said, referring to Galaxy Entertainment Group.

Galaxy Entertainment Group's local partner Leisure and Resorts World Corp. earlier said its subsidiary bought a 23-hectare land in Barangay Manoc-Manoc,  where the casino project is set to be constructed  in 2019. The casino project is estimated to cost around $500 million or P25 billion.

The plan to build a casino was met with opposition from government officials including, President Rordrigo Duterte, who had met with Galaxy executives in December 2017.

Last March, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.  granted Galaxy Entertainment Group a provisional license for the Boracay project despite ongoing talks of a temporary total closure of the top tourist destination over environmental concerns.

Duterte: No casinos

Duterte and presidential spokesperson Harry Roque have both said that there will be no new casinos on the world-famous island.

Duterte threatened to shut down Boracay two months after he met with Galaxy executives. They personally met the president in Malacañan last December to explain their plan to build an entertainment complex in Boracay.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources also said the casino project might not get approval.

READ: DENR: Casino project on Boracay? Don't bet on it

Binay: Revoke Galaxy's provisional license

On Tuesday, Sen. Nancy Binay also called on the government gaming regulatory body to take back the provisional license it has granted to Galaxy.

“Maybe it’s high time for Pagcor to do their part para matapos to put an end to buzz about it… It's creating that impression that something [is] fishy with that contract,” Binay said in English and Filipino in an interview with CNN’s "The Source".

The senator said Pagcor should retract the license to spare the president from speculation.

Binay, who also chairs the Senate committee on Tourism, said the casino project is questionable because it would not promote tourism.

“The casino is quite questionable because when you go to a casino, you don’t go out of the hotel. In Boracay, you have to enjoy the island , so there seems to be a disconnection,” she said.

Binay clarified that she is not opposing the order to close Boracay for six months because she personally saw how the island needs “healing.”

However, the senator said she is questioning the manner on how it was immediately decided.

The senator said she hoped the government could have waited a while before it announced the shutdown because there are tourists who booked a trip a year and the announcement of island closure made few weeks before their trips may hinder them from coming back to the country.

Inventory of islands pushed

The Department of Tourism earlier said tourists may wish to explore other travel destinations in the country. However, Binay fears that this may just transfer environmental problems to other islands.

Due to this, Binay is proposing an inventory of the tourist destinations in the country to determine each island’s carrying capacity and capability.  

“This is to know if we’re really ready to absorb X number of tourists,” Binay said, citing that local government units should have master plans for tourism.