Survey: Marines well-loved in Sulu

Was Steve Wynn’s sudden legal attack on estranged casino partner Kazuo Okada aimed partly to smear Pagcor’s Entertainment City? Lawmakers in charge of franchising and gaming oversight believe so, and thus hesitate to investigate the alleged bribery of Pagcor officials.

In the weeks preceding Wynn’s lawsuit against Okada in the US, global investors were being notified that the Philippines was the market to watch. One advisory, from a global bank, estimated gaming revenues in the Philippines to reach $1.4 billion in 2012. That would be a 17-percent jump from the earnings of Pagcor and casino franchisees in 2011, according to one senator.

Presumably more worrisome for Wynn, whose Wynn Resorts-Las Vegas operates Wynn-Macau, is 2013-2014. For by then would open four gaming complexes in Pagcor’s Entertainment City along Manila Bay. Investment counselors foresee the Philippines surpassing Singapore’s two mega-casinos, which are expected to earn $6.9 billion in 2012. Not only that, Entertainment City would steal gambling junkets from China, on which Macau relies. That’s because aside from Macau-style gaming, the Philippines has a variety of tourist spots for junketeers — from sun, sea and sand to mountains, museums and malls.

Okada is constructing one of the four gaming-and-entertainment resorts in the Pagcor site. Shunted out of the $2-billion project, Wynn charged him with corrupting foreign government officials. The lawsuit enabled Wynn to declare Okada an unfit partner, and thus forcibly buy back the latter’s shares in Wynn Resorts and Wynn-Macau, at 30-percent discount, ten years to pay.

* * *

Eighty percent of Sulu residents trust the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and 98 percent credit it for securing their communities. These emerged from a recent survey in the island province made infamous by the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group. Sulu in the ’70s to early ’80s also saw separatists fiercely fighting government troops.

Of the 98 percent who consider the AFP as the greatest impact to local security, 50 percent believe it is making their place a lot safer. Respondents basically were referring to the Philippine Marines, the most visible AFP unit to Sulu locals. The Marine Corps has two brigades consisting of six battalions in the island. Jointly with visiting US forces, they hold medical-dental checkups, erect schoolhouses, dig drainage, and perform other “civil-military operations.” Congratulations are in order for Marine Corps commandant Maj. Gen. Rustico Guerrero, and Naval Forces-Western Mindanao commander Rear Adm. Armando Guzman.

The survey was designed by TNS Philippines and made last Dec. 3-15 with the help of the Notre Dame of Jolo College. Simultaneous polls were done in five other conflict affected areas in Mindanao: Zamboanga, Isabela City, Basilan, Cotabato, and Marawi. The margin of error for Sulu was ±4 percent; in all the survey areas, ±2 percent. Follow-up polls will be made this month.

Compared to the 80-percent trust rating of the AFP in Sulu, it notched 67 percent in the other conflict areas.

Sulu respondents expressed slightly more trust in extremist armed groups than the rest of the conflict zones. But on the whole such trust ratings were less than 20 percent. In contrast, nearly 70 percent of Sulu respondents and more than 60 percent in the other areas consider the Abu Sayyaf a threat. No Sulu family would allow a member to join a terrorist band. Eighty-four percent of Sulu residents feel safe in their communities, almost the same as the rest of the conflict areas, 86 percent.

Most respondents are aware of rewards offered by the government to individuals and groups who help in the capture of armed extremists. But only 23 percent of Sulu respondents and 32 percent in the other conflict zones said they would avail of such rewards. The main reason cited to shun rewards is the fear of retribution.

The survey looked as well into the education, income, employment and lifestyle of respondents. Many more Sulu respondents than in other conflict areas had no electricity, TV sets, mobiles, Internet, radio, running water, refrigerators, or two-wheeled transport in their homes.

The survey would come in handy for Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao. More so when he embarks, on orders of Malacañang, on a drive against loose firearms.

* * *

A study on blindness in the Philippines shows that glaucoma is the third cause of lost or low vision, next to cataract and refraction error. While cataract and refraction problems can be reversed by surgery and corrective lenses, glaucoma is incurable. Glaucoma patients suffer progressive blindness. At best, vision loss can be slowed down if detected early and the right treatment administered.

Eight of every 100 blind Filipinos suffer from glaucoma. In the wake of such findings, ophthalmologists will hold the 2nd Philippine Glaucoma Congress on Mar. 10-11. Set by the Philippine Glaucoma Society at the Edsa Shangrila Hotel, the congress will feature new methods and means to detect, treat and teach glaucoma surgery.

* * *

SORRY. In my column last Wednesday there was a typo in the enumeration of Chinese intrusions in Philippine territorial waters. Dec. 11 and 12, 2012 should be 2011.

* * *

Catch Sapol radio show, Saturdays, 8-10 a.m., DWIZ (882-AM).

E-mail: [email protected]