Pagcor City investor donates rice for typhoon victims

The chairman of Aruze Corp. turned over 300 metric tons of rice to the Philippine government the other day for distribution to families affected by the destructive typhoons that hit the country recently.

Azure chairman Kazuo Okada handed over his donation to National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) Chairman Gilberto Teodoro through the initiative of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) chairman and CEO Efraim Genuino.

The rice donation, currently kept in a holding facility in Cabuyao, Laguna, will be used to augment supplies for the NDCC’s relief operations in typhoon-ravaged areas nationwide.

“We are very happy for the concern showed by Mr. Okada for the Filipino people. His generosity is much appreciated,” said Genuino.

Meanwhile, Teodoro, who is also defense secretary, also expressed his gratitude to Okada for helping the typhoon victims.

Aruze Corp. is renowned worldwide for manufacturing some of the most innovative and technologically advanced gaming machines in the market.

It is also known for its well-established ties with Wynn Resorts, as a major stockholder of the company in the United States and Macau.

The company is one of the investors awarded with a provisional license from Pagcor to construct a hotel-resort complex in its Bagong Nayong Pilipino-Entertainment City Manila project.

The Entertainment City Manila is a fully integrated resort complex set to rise initially on 120 hectares of prime reclaimed land along the Manila Bay area.

It aims to be the biggest tourism project the country has ever seen and the biggest job-generating program of the Philippine government.

The project will be divided into specialized areas which will feature six-star hotels, world-class theme parks, educational and cultural complexes, shopping malls, a commercial district, sports stadiums, celebrity-themed restaurants, convention halls, state-of-the-art theaters, gaming facilities, residential villages, a hospital district, and other facilities on a par with international standards.

Aruze’s concept, the Okada Resort Manila Bay, is designed as an integrated resort featuring a hotel with 2,000 standard rooms and 300 VIP suites; a major oceanarium targeted to be the world’s largest; theaters, a sports arena, and a special museum.

The project’s highlight is a giant ferris wheel similar to the London Eye, to be known as the Manila Eye.

Okada, for his part, is listed by Forbes magazine as one of the richest men in Japan.

“With Okada’s project for the Entertainment City Manila, he is able to help the Philippines and the Filipino people even more. His company alone is bringing in more than $1 billion in investments into the country. At the same time, it will create thousands of jobs for local workers,” Genuino said.

For its part, Pagcor has been actively involved in organizing relief operations in several municipalities in the typhoon-ravaged provinces of Aklan, Iloilo, and most recently, Romblon.