Philippine President backs casino ban

President Duterte explained that his order was to clean-up Boracay island and not to allow any new casinos to be built there.

Philippines.- President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has asserted that there will be no new casinos in the island of Boracay as he ordered a clean-up. The paradise island is experiencing sewerage and environmental problems that forced the head of state to close the destination, potentially hurting the tourism industry.

“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,” he assured during a press conference in Davao. Furthermore, he denied a potential “master plan” and stated that he “just ordered to clean it up because that is agricultural.”

The President was keen to state that he will not “deviate from the Law” (which brands Boracay as a forest, agricultural land) and even said that, after the clean-up, he will give the island to local farmers.

PAGCOR chief Andrea Domingo, however, said that the Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. casino project in Boracay is not related to Duterte’s statements and assessed: “I see no relationship in that because, again, it’s on the other side… of the area that was closed by the government.”