NEITHER new nor existing casinos will be allowed to operate in Boracay when it reopens on Oct. 26, according to Tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.
According to Puyat, this is in accordance with President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive that Boracay should be casino-free.
“He (Duterte) has even instructed the Department of Tourism to close down the existing casinos in the island. So there will be no casinos at all in Boracay,” Puyat told tourism industry players in a business forum at World Trade Center Metro Manila.
“I have to check the existence of casinos there. There are resorts. If there are resorts doing casino operations, we have to ascertain their permits if they are really operating with permits,” Tourism undersecretary Arturo Boncato Jr. told reporters.
But House committee on games and amusement chair Rep. Gus Tambunting said shutting down casinos in Boracay is not within the tourism department’s jurisdiction.
“I do not believe the Department of Tourism can shut down existing casinos for the simple reason that Pagcor (Philippipne Amusement and Gaming Corp.) has primary jurisdiction over all casinos and not the DOT. The concerned government agencies must act within their jurisdiction,” Tambunting said in a text message.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a major concern kasi ang nagbibigay naman po ng permit ay ang gobyerno. It’s also now a policy of the government not to have casino operations in the island once it opens,” Boncato said.
Boracay’s six-month closure and rehabilitation is considered the beginning of efforts toward sustainable tourism, which the DOT promotes.
Even without tourist access to Boracay since April, the country managed to post an 11.35-percent growth in tourist arrivals last month, bringing the growth rate for the first half of the year to 10.4 percent. The DOT’s goal is to attract 7.4 million tourists this year.
To help boost arrivals, the DOT seeks to reestablish the Philippines as a top destination for meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE). Its target this year is to invite 40 MICE organizers and assist 140 MICE events.
Increasing access to the Philippines via international flights is key toward achieving this goal, Boncato said.
“We want travel to be seamless. We are working towards that. We are really working on new connections to the Philippines, improving our airports, negotiating for more seats in the country, investing in image building, and rolling out our campaign,” he explained.
“We are coordinating with organizations in the Philippines that are connected internationally. They are like national associations that are members of international organizations. We want them to bring in their meetings to the Philippines. Services of tour operators, tour guides, and very good accommodation, those are the basic things that MICE organizers look for, and the Philippines really stands a good chance in bringing success to meetings here,” Boncato added. (ABS-CBN News)
