Is Duterte putting thousands out of work in Boracay to clean it up for Chinese gamblers?

Plans to temporarily shut down the beach resort, and turn locals jobless for at least six months, come after a Macau company presented the Philippine president with a US$500 million casino proposal

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Scavengers sift through piles of garbage dumped on a hillside in the central Philippine resort island of Boracay. The worsening garbage problem on the island could threaten Boracay's image as a pristine paradise for foreign and local tourists. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:30pm, 7 Apr 2018Updated: 5:31pm, 3 Jul 2018

Twelve years ago, a young Filipino holidaymaker fell so deeply in love with the white-sand island of Boracay that she decided to open a restaurant there to live the paradise dream.

As a result of the boom in tourist arrivals, especially the cash-rich Chinese, her business has been on such a right track that she now runs several restaurants with 50 staff on the island that is world famous for its crystalline beaches and nightlife.

But her paradise dream has slowly morphed into a nightmare since representatives of the Macau-based Galaxy Entertainment Group, including its founder Lui Che-woo, met Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte last December to wow him with their vision of a US$500 million integrated casino resort there.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte recently described the beach resort of Boracay as a “cesspool”.

Two months later, the firebrand leader visited the island and declared it was a “cesspool” that needs to be shut down to rehabilitate.

He finally approved a six-month closure on Wednesday, effective April 26, triggering an outcry from island residents that the Philippine government is sacrificing the local interests to keep Chinese investments and tourists coming.

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