Trillanes: Duterte’s claim gov’t not planning to approve Boracay casino project a ‘blatant lie’

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Tuesday said President Rodrigo Duterte's claim that the government has no plan to approve the construction of a casino in Boracay was a blatant lie.

Trillanes made the statement in a briefing where he showed published pictures showing Duterte meeting the investor of the P500-million casino resort in Malacañang.

“Kahapon nagsabi si Duterte na wala siyang masterplan sa Boracay rehab, wala siyang alam sa casinong itatayo. Maliwanag sa picture na kinakamayan niya ‘yung may ari ng casino. Nag-courtesy call sa kanya,” he said.

“Nakita niya 'pag medyo mainit ang tama saka siya aatras at magsasabi ng diversion. His statement was an outright lie,” he said.

Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. chairperson Andrea Domingo was also present in the meeting.

Trillanes viewed the courtesy call as an indication that the mega-casino plan was a go.

“Hindi naman papayagan ‘yan kung hindi tuloy ang project kasi ini-screen lahat ng nagko-courtesy call,” he said.

In a press conference before he left for China on Monday, Duterte said there was no plan to approve the construction of a casino on the island resort, which he has ordered closed for six months.

"Wala akong plano diyan [na] casino-casino. Tama na 'yan kasi sobra na. Casino dito, casino doon. Give it to the people who need it most," he said.

"In the meantime, there's no plan. My order was to clean it up. So mag-clean, sarado. There's one way in, one way out," he added.

Trillanes said the government can revoke the permit it has given to the casino operator if indeed it is serious in the statement that no mega-casino will be allowed in the island resort.

He reiterated that Duterte allowed the temporary closure of Boracay to give way to the construction of mega-casino.

“I maintain my position na kaya sinara ang Boracay ay para sa construction ng casino. They would need the port and road network for the transport of the materials. Hindi nila magagawa iyan habang may turista,” he said.

He urged residents of Boracay to monitor the rehabilitation, if it pushed through, and post pictures and videos. —ALG, GMA News