So go, Ho - My Viewpoint

Stanley Ho feels so insulted by all the controversy surrounding his business interests in the Philippines that he has threatened to pull out all his investments here. So how come I don't see people panicking and heading for Hong Kong or Macau in order to beseech the tycoon to please keep it coming to this poor country of ours? Apart from his friends at BW Resources -- and there's an entirely different story there, as we all know -- we're not hearing anyone crying, "Whoa, Ho, whoa! We really need your money."

Mr. Ho apparently got an acute case of culture shock. He can't understand why he's being attacked in Philippine media. The United Pasig Against Crime, an anti-crime group, has publicized a Canadian investigation official's report that Mr. Ho is allegedly a leader of a Chinese triad which is into drugs, prostitution and gambling. Religious groups -- Catholic bishops and El Shaddai, among them -- oppose his reported plans to open up more casinos, bingo parlors and dog-racing tracks in the country. My God! he protests, he is recognized as a respected businessman wherever he goes. In fact, he adds, he's even been admitted by Pope John Paul II into the exclusive Order of St. Gregory the Great. That, if I'm not mistaken, makes Stanley Ho a papal knight!

Unfortunately, Mr. Ho can't expect all this criticism and publicity, positive as well as negative, to go away even if he keeps his investments in the country. He should expect the decibel level to increase, as his gaming businesses here expand. So, I suppose this means he'll conclude that he might as well just forget about the Philippines.

Would that be such a great loss to the country? Well, we could certainly use the capital, as well as the employment the planned businesses would generate. But many protest that the gambling businesses which would provide the employment are not the sort of enterprises we want to attract. The social costs would far outweigh the benefits, the argument goes.

I'm not so sure Mr. Ho's investments are that desirable, or that we don't have alternative investors. For example, he has expressed interest in socialized housing projects in partnership with the Estrada administration. Many other businessmen have seen the potential in housing projects but this is one area where the government still has to sort out its priorities. In the past, the government has been left holding the bag, with unpaid mortgages and completed but unoccupied projects. But when the government finally gets its act together in this area, the problem will not be the lack of private investors. Even now, there are already many waiting in the wings.

Mr. Ho also wants to operate a hydrofoil service between Manila and Subic, obviously to feed the casinos there with a steady supply of regular patrons. Again, this is not a new idea. There used to be a ferry service but it was discontinued for lack of traffic. If the traffic is there, there are many who will pick up the slack and provide the service.

Putting up a billion-peso hotel on the premises where the Nayong Pilipino now stands is not necessarily a good idea. President Estrada has opted for the construction of the third phase of the international airport at NAIA, rather than develop Clark as our hub for international air traffic. The land occupied by Nayong Pilipino may be better utilized for future expansion, improvement of infrastructure such as the road network within NAIA, and for better safety of aircraft and passengers. A big hotel cum entertainment center, obviously with more casinos, would cause heavier congestion in an already severely congested area and present more serious air safety problems.

So, on balance, Mr. Ho might really want to make good his threat and just pack up. Hong Kong would, without a doubt, be more hospitable to him.