Pagcor may forfeit Okada bond worth P100M

Kazuo Okada. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) may opt to forfeit the P100-million guarantee earlier set aside by Japanese gaming magnate Kazuo Okada if his group fails to finish the construction of its casino at the Entertainment City on the deadline stipulated in its contract.

Cristino L. Naguiat Jr., chair and chief executive of the state-run Pagcor, told reporters on Wednesday that despite the lack of a local partner, as well as legal woes now hounding Okada’s group, it should still push through with the construction of the $2-billion gaming complex along Manila Bay.

If it cannot complete construction by March 2015, “Pagcor may forfeit Okada’s performance bond of P100 million,” Naguiat said.

The Pagcor official said the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel under the Department of Justice is currently studying legal options on the matter.

Under Philippine laws, a foreign firm can operate a casino, but cannot buy land to build its facilities on it, Naguiat noted.

Last May, talks for a partnership between the Okada and Gokongwei groups faltered.

Okada’s gaming development further hit a roadblock amid a legal tussle with listed high-end property developer Century Properties Group Inc.

Last July, Century Properties obtained a court order from Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 66, which granted the company’s application for preliminary prohibitory injunction against the Okada group.

The order prohibited Okada from terminating a previous agreement with Century Properties, as well as from committing any acts that will make the agreement or any part of it ineffective.

The earlier memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two parties would have allowed Century Properties to buy a 36-percent stake in holding company Eagle 1 Landholdings Inc. for $12 million.

Eagle 1 owns the 44-hectare property in Pagcor Entertainment City where Okada’s casino is supposed to be built.

Okada’s group signed a deal with Century Properties and privately owned First Paramount Holdings 888 Inc., which would have granted the two Filipino companies a combined 60-percent ownership of Eagle 1. First Paramount 888, however, backed out of the plan to acquire 24 percent of the holding firm.

The ruling also prevents Okada’s group from dealing with any party with respect to any sale, disposition or original issuance of any class of the shares of stock of Eagle 1 and from “dealing with any other party for the development of the commercial/residential land and the commercial/residential project itself as contained in said agreements.”