Okada to pursue $2-B PHL resort-casino despite possible raps

Universal Entertainment Corp., owned by Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okado, will still pursue its $2-billion investment in Philippine Amusement Gaming Corp.'s (Pagcor) Entertainment City, the company said Tuesday.

In a statement posted on its English website, Universal said, “Our vision has always been to create a fully integrated resort of hotels, casino and shopping center where our property alone can impact the Philippine economy by creating 15,000 new job opportunities for the country.”

The statement came after a fact-finding panel of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Bureau of Investigation recommended filing criminal charges against 26 individuals including Okada and eight other foreigners over alleged “anomalous activities” involving the casino project.

The DOJ on Monday said the individuals may face raps for violating the Philippine Anti-Dummy Law, the Public Land Act, and the Foreign Investment Act, among others.

Universal, however, maintained that they have been “working with” the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel since 2012 to resolve land ownership issues.

“[T]hey had advised [that] we have until the completion of the development to resolve the land issue,” the firm said.

In 2008, Universal acquired a parcel of land along Manila Bay after it received a proposal from the Pagcor Entertainment City a year earlier.

“We submitted our plan and bid for the project,” the group said.

But in 2010, the Office of the President re-interpreted the grandfather rule for foreign real property ownership, which looks at the nationality of individuals owning or controlling shares of a company.

As such, Universal said it has been in talks with possible Philippine partners “to find an amicable resolution to the problem.”

“Currently, we are already in the final stages of negotiations to secure potential local partners and finding a conclusion to the ownership of land,” it said.

Earlier, Gokongwei-led Robinsons Land Corp. said its negotiations with Universal for the casino-resort complex fell through, while publicly-held Empire East Land Holdings Inc. confirmed talks with Okada over the housing component of the development. — Siegfrid O. Alegado/BM, GMA News