Philippine task force to PAGCOR: cancel Boracay casino licenses

A government agency created by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has asked the country’s gaming regulator to cancel all gaming licenses issued or promised to casino operators on the island of Boracay.

In May, Duterte issued an executive order creating the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF), which was tasked with imposing measures “to reverse the degradation of Boracay island.” The news came one month after Duterte vowed that there would be no casinos on Boracay once the island’s environmental clean-up was accomplished.

On Monday, Business Mirror published a letter sent by the BIATF to Andrea Domingo, who chairs the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). The letter said that in light of Duterte’s pronouncements and the mandate given the BIATF, the group was requesting that “any and all gaming franchise(s) and/or provisional license(s) in Boracay Island be cancelled by your good office.” The letter closed by asking for Domingo’s “timely cooperation on this matter.”

The letter was undated but Business Mirror claimed it had been signed by three Cabinet secretaries following a BIATF meeting on September 28. Boracay was re-opened to Philippine citizens last week following its six-month closure and international tourists are expected to be welcomed back on October 26.