Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | April 2008 32 Cover Story It’s possible it was included more to placate local politicians and church leaders hostile to gaming than as a warning to potential investors. Community Pagcor certainly went to a lot of trouble to present the project as socially responsible when it held a ground breaking ceremony the day after the announcement. It invited three retired (though fully robed) Roman Catholic bishops to attend and say prayers at the event. One of the churchmen, the Bishop Emeritus of Calbayog, Maximiano Cruz, was asked at the ceremony about the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ well-publicised opposition to gambling. Bishop Cruz replied the Church’s role was to “shepherd its flock, not to compete with the state in governing.” Sensitive A representative of an inter-faith group was also present. This may be designed as a conciliatory gesture to local Muslims who built a mosque on land in the Manila Bay reclamation area in the late 1990s with permission from the then Parañaque City mayor Joey Marquez. The authorities were reportedly planning to demolish the building last year and did evict squatter families from the vicinity, but the building was still intact at the time of the ground breaking ceremony. The site for the entertainment city has also undergone some name re-branding, which could be crucial in selling the idea to the community.When the idea was first proposed in 2007, it had a US$20 billion price tag and the working title ‘Pagcor Entertainment City’. At that time the organisation was reportedly in talks with Greece’s Loutraki Casino as one potential partner. Now the title of the 2008 incarnation is ‘Bagong Nayong Pilipino – Manila Bay Integrated City’. It’s a bit of a mouthful, but crucially the opening part of the new title is in Tagalog, the first of the country’s two official languages, reinforcing the idea this is a Philippine project for the benefit of Filipinos, rather than somehow Pagcor’s personal fiefdom. Pagcor’s financial clout has occasionally made it a target for populist politicians who want to engage in a bit of casino bashing during times of national crisis. Industry-led Pagcor has also been careful to present the proposal as a genuine cooperative venture by the international gaming industry rather than simply a Pagcor initiative. The talks on Manila Bay were conducted via an industry working group called the Euro-Asian Cooperation on Gaming Association set up in 2006. Members include senior management from Aruze Gaming, the slot manufacturer WMS and Stanley Ho’s gaming operator Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM), as well as Pagcor. The political implications of such a big project certainly can’t be ignored if the scheme is to come to fruition. The Philippines, unlike Macau, has a fantastic track record for quality customer service. Unfortunately, it also has a pretty dismal one for political stability. The most recent outbreak of political strife, known locally as ‘The Peninsula Manila Rebellion,’ occurred in November 2007 when General Danilo Lim, the alleged plotter in a 2006 coup attempt against President Arroyo, walked out of his court trial and, with help from co-defendants, took over the second floor of the Peninsula Hotel in Makati City on the outskirts of Manila. The six-hour stand-off was ended when forces loyal to the president filled the hotel with tear gas and smashed an armoured personnel carrier through a wall. The Peninsula Manila Rebellion Manila Bay quick facts: * Manila Bay is one of the largest natural harbours in the world and noted for its beautiful sunsets. * Manila Bay was the site of two major naval battles that twice decided the fate of the Philippines. The first, in 1647 at Puerto de Cavite—an important port for the Spanish colonial rulers— in Manila Bay led to the defeat of a Dutch fleet and ended the latter’s hopes of taking over the islands. The second battle, in 1898 during the Spanish-American War, led to Spain being driven out of the country and the United States adminis-