Philippines: Duterte’s U-turn on Boracay casino ban slammed by environmental activists

The president has given the go-ahead for a casino on the country’s top resort island to generate tax revenue for pandemic-drained government coffers

But critics of the decision say the fragile ecosystem of Boracay – which was closed for six months in 2018 for a clean-up – cannot cope with more visitors

Reading Time:4 minutes

People swim at White Beach on Boracay island in October 2020. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 12:00pm, 1 Sep 2021Updated: 8:10pm, 1 Sep 2021

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s U-turn on his decision to ban casinos on the resort island of Boracay, made in a bid to generate tax revenue for the country’s Covid-19 response, has been criticised by environmental activists and a local politician.

Nenette Aguirre Graf – a councillor in the Malay municipality of Aklan province, where Boracay is located – said residents and business owners on the island were adamantly against turning it from a “wholesome family destination” into a casino island, which she said would bring negative and criminal aspects.

“Is this it, after sacrificing so much?” said Graf, referring to the Duterte administration’s six-month closure of the island in 2018 for environmental rehabilitation.

While the clean-up saw the loss of billions of pesos in tourism revenue, it was made on the back of reports that the sea around the island had become dangerously polluted due to the discharge of human waste directly into the water.

Graf, a former president and current board trustee of the Boracay Foundation Inc business group, pointed out that even without casinos, Boracay grossed up to 60 billion pesos (US$1.2 billion) in tourism receipts in 2019.

“Boracay is making that much money without the casino,” she said. “I don’t know why we have to be a casino destination.”