Shame on Ho? - My Viewpoint

Sir Knight-Commander-Cheva-lier-Doctor Stanley Ho chickened out of the inauguration of his Jumbo Palace Floating Restaurant -- for all the wrong reasons! He cancelled his trip to Manila, decrying the "recent campaign of unsubstantiated allegations made against him." This campaign, he said, "has been so vilifying and bitter and cynical as to be completely unacceptable."

Dr. Ho, who, sadly, cannot seem to get the sympathy of the local Catholic clergy despite his being a Papal Knight, professes "bewilderment" at the "tremendous controversy" generated by his proposed investments in the Philippines. These investments, he stressed, were being made "in good faith" and in order to demonstrate his "commitment to the underlying soundness of the Philippine economy and the well-being of its people."

He brands those US and Canadian "intelligence reports" regarding his alleged links to drug syndicates as being "completely unverified." Nor, he insists, has he been summoned by the US Congress to testify on any supposed illegal campaign contributions. He laments that his donation to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, which he made because of his "personal admiration for one of the undisputed great men of the 20th century," has been "cynically twisted to be a disguised illegal contribution to the US Democratic Party."

OK, let's grant, in deference to a knight of the altar, as well as of the round gaming table, that the charges of Mr. Ho's alleged criminal connections still remain in the realm of speculation and unproven allegations. Indeed, as far as we know, he is not under indictment anywhere, much less a fugitive from justice. We can also concede that he is a "biggie" in Macau, a local icon whose business investments contributed significantly to the shaping of the unique character of that territory. And perhaps, a floating restaurant does help brighten Manila Bay, à la Aberdeen in Hong Kong.

Still, Dr. Stanley Ho must understand by now that he is bringing in investments which not too many people are convinced we really need. Proponents of casinos and other games of chance such big-time dog racing and -- the latest BW Resources gimmick -- on-line jueteng are dime a dozen. Mr. Ho is one of the most successful casino developers in the world, but others from Las Vegas and Taiwan, for example, have been waiting to get in for years.

The jumbo floating restaurant is interesting, but down the boulevard near the Manila Hotel, an entire floating hotel is docked. Pagcor has already publicly announced, through its redoubtable chairperson, Alice Reyes, that Mr. Ho's floating restaurant will not be granted a casino license. That simply reflects the indisputable fact that there are already several casinos operating at or near the Roxas Blvd. strip. That high-speed ferry service between Subic and Manila is obviously designed to facilitate the transportation of gamblers from Taiwan and Hong Kong to and from the several casinos operating in SBMA. The ferry service is not commercially justified otherwise, as a previous unsuccessful operator found out.

The general feeling, I believe, is that while we acknowledge that gambling is already here in this country, we don't particularly want to be inundated by it. We don't want to be another Macau. And until we have a super-efficient and generally incorruptible police, justice system and local government set-up, we cannot be a Las Vegas yet. And even Las Vegas went through years of resolute clean-up before it got its present image of being a family destination. Despite that, some say Las Vegas hasn't completely gotten rid of the rotten eggs.

This, in short, is not the kid of "tourism" we want. Poverty causes prostitution rings, bogus "cultural" entertainment and crime syndicates to flock to gambling centers, like buzzards to carrion. We can do without this kind of foreign investment.

Thus, even if Sir Stanley were able to convince one and all that he is truly a knight in shining armor, he would not receive the warm welcome he evidently craves. At least, not until he drops all plans to set up casinos and other gaming establishments here.