Boracay traders oppose casino

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By TARA YAP

ILOILO CITY – The foremost business group of Boracay Island in Malay town, Aklan province, is against the proposed construction of a P500-million casino and resort.



This is the first time a major business group in Boracay publicly denounced the plans of Macao-based casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG) and Leisure Resorts World Corp. (LRWC), GEG’s Philippine-based partner.

The construction on a 23-hectare property in Boracay is expected to start next year after backers of the casino signed a provisional license with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).

“It would be better for the proponents to relocate the projects to mainland of Malay,” said Boracay Foundation Inc.

(BFI) in an April 3 statement. This is amidst the government’s massive crackdown and environmental rehabilitation efforts.

This is the first time a major business group in Boracay publicly denounced the plans, noting that it opposes the proposed casino to ensure inclusive growth for all and not only for a chosen few.

“The island’s infrastructure can no longer cope with the demands of existing developments. Surely, adding big projects such as casinos will definitely bring additional load to our public services and infrastructure – which we obviously know are already inadequate,” noted BFI, which is headed by its president Nenette Aguirre-Graf.

While it supposedly opposes plans for casino construction, BFI also disclosed in its statement that it asked the Malay Town Council last January to “accelerate the drafting of an ordinance setting the guidelines to regulate the operation of casinos (including junket casinos) in Boracay Island.”

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