Stanley Ho not pulling out $30-M investment in BW

Macau casino kingpin Stanley Ho has no plans to pull out his $30-million (P1.2-billion) investment in the Philippine gaming firm BW Resources Corp. but is uncertain about putting any new money into the country, a company official said yesterday.

Allen Mojica, a spokesman for the company, said Ho will make a final decision on his investments when he returns to the country on Sunday to attend the opening of his Jumbo Palace floating restaurant.

Ho told selected Filipino reporters in Hong Kong last Sunday that he was angered about criticisms from Congress and the Catholic Church about his investments in the Philippines.

"If I am really unwelcome ... I will go," he said.

To this, eight lawmakers had this short but curt message: "Then go."

"I don't give a damn, really," said Rep. Raul Gonzales (Lakas, Iloilo). "We don't need persons whose character is (linked) with the shady underworld."

Ho has been named by an anti-crime watchdog group recently as being a possible conduit for the drug trade, gambling and other Chinese Triad operations.

Mojica would not comment whether Ho was planning to sue the United People Against Crime (UPAC), but instead warned the incident may scare other investors who are looking for a "friendly government with a friendly environment."

Rep. Michael Defensor (LP, Quezon City) said Ho's departure "will relieve all of us of a jumbo headache."

He said Ho's threats to pull his money out of the country are empty since he claimed the tycoon's investments here are mostly promissory.

Ho had said that his other possible investments in the Philippines include a hotel complex near the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, a high-speed hydrofoil complex between Manila and the Subic freeport and housing projects.

Defensor said "the houses which the casino mogul promised to build are still castles in the air."

The congressman said that Ho's projects will depend heavily on the success of local gaming operations.

"In short, profits of his proposed casinos will be funneled to housing ... this is some sort of a consuelo de bobo (consolation)," he added.

Defensor described Ho's jumbo restaurant as a Trojan horse, which will soon "spill out not culinary delights but mahjong tables."

"President Estrada should be wary of gamblers bearing gifts. Above all, he should not play dice with our future," he added.

A Palace official, on the other hand, expressed concern over Ho's threat to pull out investments.

"That is a genuine concern," said Presidential Spokesman Fernando Barican.

"We would like to assure investors that the Philippines is basically an investment-friendly country," he said, noting that Ho's case was "incidental."

Barican said he was "not aware" whether Mr. Estrada would ask Ho to reconsider, but said the President's initial reaction was that "it may be unfortunate" since the tycoon had planned to enter into socialized housing projects with the government, among others.

"We are not treating Ho any more specially than we are anybody else. The laws remain the same, everyone is being enticed to come in all these areas that have been open for foreign investments," he said.

`Ho's particular investment is a matter for him to decide," he added.

Still, Rep. Joker Arroyo (LAMP, Makati) said the country should express elation over Ho's planned departure.

He said that the casino king's floating restaurant "is an evil monument to the Marcos past where it was docked during the martial law years."

"Now, that evil symbol is back," he said.

For his part, Rep. Apolinario Lozada (Lakas, Negros Occidental) challenged Mr. Estrada to prevent Ho from investing in the country if authorities could verify if the mogul is part of a Chinese Triad.

"As the commander-in-chief, Mr. Estrada is duty-bound to ensure that foreign investors with upright moral backgrounds are allowed entry into the country. Those who have disreputable character, he should drive away, whether they are his friends or not," he said.

According to the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Ho has no ties with any criminal group.

At the Senate, Majority Leader Franklin Drilon lashed at Ho for daring Mr. Estrada to say whether the gambling mogul's investments are welcome.

"We do not even know whether he really has investments in the country," he said.

Senate Minority Leader Teofisto Guingona said Ho could leave any time he wants and he would not be missed at all.

For his part, Sen. Raul Roco said Ho is not the type of businessman that the country should attract, adding that the Philippines is already "overbooked (with such types of businessmen and investments) as well as the consequent illegal activities of prostitution and smuggling."

Sen. Loren Legarda said "the country can live without Ho."

"We welcome productive and positive foreign investments... but there are many sectors in the country that consider any gambling enterprise as something we can live without," she said.

Meanwhile, Rep. Roilo Golez (LAMP, Parañaque), chairman of the House committee on public order and security, said his panel will continue with its probe on Ho's alleged involvement in criminal syndicates.

He said they are still waiting for reports from the Interpol and the Philippine Center for Transnational Crime about Ho's activities.

Ho has invested about P1.2 billion in BW Resources Corp., a firm that has become enmeshed in a clash between President Estrada and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Perfecto Yasay.

Yasay testified last week that Mr. Estrada pressured him to drop an investigation into allegations of manipulation of BW Resources stock last year.

After opening at P2.04 last year, BW Resources shares hit a high of P107 on Oct. 11 after Ho accepted an offer to take control of the company. On Monday, the stock closed at P10.75.