Pagcor Chair Andrea Domingo has revealed that the Philippine gaming regulator granted Galaxy Entertainment Group and local partner Leisure and Resorts World Corp (LRWC) a provisional casino license for their planned US$500 integrated resort last week after securing a Letter of No Objection from the Boracay government.
Addressing questions over the timing of the decision, which seemed to contradict President Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial plan to shut the tiny Philippine island down for up to a year, Domingo said that the 23-hectare site of Galaxy’s new IR “will be built on the part of Boracay where there are no buildings yet; not on the very congested part of the island.
“What we granted was just a provisional license. GEG and LRWC must comply with all environmental regulations because we are going to be very strict. We have lawyers and engineers to check on their compliance from time to time.”
Domingo added that gaining local government approval was a standard requirement for the granting of provisional licenses. She also confirmed that Galaxy and LRWC had filed their license application prior to President Duterte’s moratorium on the granting of gaming licenses for integrated resorts and casinos on 13 January 2018.
However, the immediate future of many other businesses on Boracay remains clouded following a recommendation by three government agencies – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Department of Tourism – to shut the island down to tourists for at least six months from 26 April 2018 in order to address serious environmental damage and water pollution.
The agencies forwarded their official recommendation to Duterte last Friday with the final decision now in the President’s hands. Duterte has made no secret of his support for the plan.
In the meantime, LRWC Chairman Reynaldo Bantug has stated his intention to “work hand-in-hand with the local and national officials, regulatory agencies and the entire Boracay community for a well-managed and sustainable development of Boracay so it may be enjoyed by all for generations to come.”
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