The Philippines’ Department of Justice has said that so as to enforce his “no casino” policy on Boracay Island, president Rodrigo Duterte should issue an executive order. Such an act will be the quickest and most effective way of stopping the casino operations on the island, that reopens for foreign tourists on Friday.
Representatives of the majority of public associations and local governments seem to be in line with this Duterte’s no thought of no longer casinos on Boracay. Following a six-month shut-down for a ecological cleanup and rehabilitation, the island is finally reopening this week. Police have put new rules concerning waste disposal, watersports that can harm the ecosystem, drinking and smoking. Being a vocal opponent of gambling, President Duterte also said that the island should be “free of casinos” as it opens.
Earlier this week, the local gambling regulator PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation) has been said to have been urged to cancel the existing casino licenses and also to stop issuing new ones. The request had come, according to media reports, by the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force, a body that was specifically created for the purpose of assessing the environmental harm in the island and devising strategies to deal with problem. Local newspaper The Philippines Star said that the ruler has made a choice to instantly suspend all gambling licenses on Boracay.
Now, it’s likely that such activities may not be entirely legal. In a letter published Thursday, the Department of Justice urges that President Rodrigo Duterte issues an executive order, that might let him stop the casino operations on the island.
Legal Repercussions
In a recommendation letter dated from October 8, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra writes that the President has the authority to limit casino operations on the island. The correspondence is an eight-page legal ruling that comes in an answer to a query by the Department of Tourism, which will be worried about possible legal repercussions caused by the revocation of casino licenses.
In the legal opinion, Guevarra clarifies the President may direct the PAGCOR by a executive order to reverse the licenses granted and also to prohibit the issuing of new permits. In addition, he points out that the provisional permits given by the regulator aren’t contracts and are, therefore, not legally binding to its government. Casino permits may, subsequently, be “allowed, revoked” or their renewal withheld by the regulatory body instantly.
Meanwhile, Macau-based casino giant Galaxy Entertainment Group is planning to construct a large integrated casino resort on Boracay. It had been granted a casino license only a month before the temporary closing of this island. Galaxy Chairman Lui Che Woo explained the casino facility would be only a small area of the complex and the complex could, in actuality, focus on the leisure and entertainment offerings.
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