CLARK FREEPORT – The ambitious plan to reclaim some 45 hectares of a gambling and entertainment center at the Manila Bay will put in place some 3,000 modern slot machines…but displace at least 100,000 small fishing families.
This was the highlight of a letter sent by the fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) to the Japanese gambling giant Tiger Resorts, Leisure and Entertainment Inc. (TRLE) which is investing $ 2 billion in a Las Vegas-type in the reclamation area in Pasay City.
“The rise of this $2 billion Las Vegas type gambling center is a virtual death certificate for all fishing activities in Manila Bay,” Pamalakaya said.
Pamalakaya noted that gambling resorts “are not the kind of development the small fisherfolk and the Filipino people want from Pres. Aquino.”
“We have no future in a republic of gamblers. We don’t want to be replaced or displaced by slot machines, gambling tables, poker chips and game cards,” said Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap.
He lamented that “Pres. Aquino and officials of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) and their Japanese client want to replace the fisherfolk of Manila Bay with slot machines.”
Pamalakaya said no less 100,000 families of small fishermen at the bay, including those in Cavite would be affected by the casino project.
“Imagine a world where 100,000 fishing families or 600,000 people will be dislodged by 500 gaming tables, 150 high-end stores and 3,000 slot machines in the name of Aquino’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program.
We ask the Tiger group to leave the Philippines and Manila Bay and respect the fisherfolk’s rights to livelihood and their right to live in fishing communities,” Hicap said.
The Las Vegas gambling center project will involve the development of two luxury casino hotels with 450 and 650 rooms each, respectively.
Tiger Resorts, Leisure and Entertainment Inc. is one of the four major investors in the Pagcor project that include Bloombury Investments of ports tycoon Enrique Razon, Belle Corporation in partnership with SM group and the Resorts World group of Andrew Tan controlled Alliance Global Inc.
Pamalakaya said the 45-hectare casino project in Manila Bay is a precursor to another ambitious project being planned by the Philippine Reclamation Authority.
The group said the PRA is planning to reclaim some 615 hectares of foreshore areas in Manila Bay, excluding the 175-hectare mangrove and marine sanctuary in Las Pinas and Paranaque.
