Philippine Casino Under Pressure
Malaysian investors said Monday that the Philippine government has failed to honor their contract when it recently closed down the Legenda Hotel Casino in the Subic Bay of northwest Manila.
In a statement, an executive director of Legend International Resorts Ltd., announced the closure of the hotel and casino by the government funded gaming firm Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) would definitely affect the flow of commerce into the Philippines.
The company is reorganizing under a rehabilitation plan approved by the local courts in a November 2004 decision.
Pagcor closed down the Legenda Casino in May for allegedly failing to remit 15 percent share Pagcor held in the casinos revenue as a requirement to operate in its license. Because of the Asian financial crisis the Legend International claims it had been losing money since 1999.
In 2000, despite talks to tackle the issue, Pagcor and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Administration (SBMA) threatened to cancel the casinos license and shut down the hotel unless it agreed to certain amendments with the government.
In the closed statement, the gentleman said his company would eventually agree to new the amendments. The Legend International filed for an injunction against the state gaming firm because attempts to work out an agreeable settlement with Pagcor failed miserably.
