Pardo: We'll sink Jumbo Palace if it has a casino

Here's one jumbo of a promise from Finance Secretary Jose Pardo.

Pardo vowed yesterday to "sink" the floating Jumbo restaurant owned by Macau gambling mogul Stanley Ho "if it has gambling!"

Formally called the Manila Jumbo Palace floating restaurant, the Jumbo sailed from its berth in Hong Kong to Manila Bay and is reportedly going to be converted into a floating casino as well. It will be inaugurated tonight.

Although he insists that the Jumbo will not be a floating casino, Pardo is ready to roll out the proverbial red carpet for foreign investors like Ho as long as they pump in more than $1 billion into the country.

He said investors in the entertainment industry, including gambling, would also be welcome but their investments "should be rationalized, regulated and sectionalized."

He said investments in gambling establishments should be "geographically limited" to certain special zones like Subic and Clark.

"I'd rather see it in one area where it is regulated and there is no prostitution," Pardo said.

He stressed that though it would be unrealistic not to allow any gambling activity in the country, he is against "wanton licensing of gambling."

"I identify with the concerns of the Catholic Church, but I don't think it is in a position to completely stop gambling," Pardo said.

Pardo said there is a need to encourage foreign investments, especially with a competitor like China, which boasts of a bigger market.

To encourage foreign investments, Pardo said he is willing to extend incentives, including a 12-year tax holiday.

"If their investments are $1 billion and up, I'd put out the red carpet," he promised.

But as far as Pardo is concerned, the Jumbo is a floating restaurant, not a casino in disguise.

And it is not just his reputation that will sink if it turns out to be otherwise.