Why Malay Mayor Bautista Favors POGO?

BORACAY Island, Malay—Malay Mayor Frolibar Bautista said he is opening the mainland town of Malay for investors interested in the controversial Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) and allowing casino operations.

Bautista first introduced his plans during the meeting with the ASEAN diplomats held at the Belmont Hotel here April 19. It was only June 10 that Mayor Bautista talked to Rappler about why he was opening the gates for investors.

The town of Malay became popular because it is in the geographical area of Boracay, one of the best beaches in the world. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, Malay town has a land area of 66.01 square kilometers (25.49 sq mi), constituting 3.62% of the 1,821.42-square-kilometer (703.25 sq mi) total area of Aklan.

“I’m just being practical. I want to help Filipinos who are poor. In reality, the Philippines has multimillion investors coming from Chinese-Filipinos (Chinoy) such as Robinson, SM malls, among others. I don’t see any wrong doing if Chinese Filipinos will invest in Malay,” he added.

The Malay town has a local policy of encouraging local migrants working at the different hotels in other provinces.

Already, the San Miguel Corporation, also owned by Chinoy Ramon Ang, operates the Godofredo Ramos Airport (also known as Boracay /Caticlan Airports).. The airport started its operation under the SMC in 2011.

“The POGO will certainly generate employment and revenue in Malay, This will also benefit the whole province of Aklan. I just hope that the TESDA will have a massive campaign of Chinese language skills training for Filipinos for employment,” Bautista added.

It was gathered that the LGU will be a billionaire town next year because of the continuous economic growth of Boracay. This year, the Malay town has a local budget of P950 million.

Ronald So, a Chinese-Filipino businessman in nearby Roxas City, Capiz in a separate interview said that he is supporting the cause of Mayor Bautista, though he is not fond of gaming and casino operations.

“The bottom line is the government should have  a clear regulatory function that the POGO operation will only allow foreign tourists. I also urged the Catholic Church hierarchy to strengthen its moral campaign in order to prevent Filipinos from being addicted to gaming. We need the POGO to generate employment since the Philippines is now facing economic crises due to inflation,” he added.