Nayong Pilipino project groundbreaking rites: From cheers to tears

Nayong Pilipino Foundation (NPF) Chairperson Patricia Ocampo was about to deliver a speech on Tuesday when Malacañang announced that she was already fired.

Ocampo was at the Entertainment City Manila for the groundbreaking ceremony of an upcoming integrated leisure and entertainment resort by foreign-owned firm Landing Philippines.

Malacañang’s announcement, however, eclipsed the rather cheerful mood of the event, after it said that Duterte has fired the NPF board of directors and management for a disadvantageous lease contract.

While Roque did not disclose the finer details of this contract, NFP and Landing officials were quick to leave the venue after the groundbreaking ceremony. Bodyguards even blocked reporters who sought for comment.

Landing Philippines is investing approximately $1.5 billion for its project, which will include the world’s second largest, if not the largest, indoor theme park.

The resort, called NayonLanding, will symbolize the rich culture and heritage of the Philippines, the company said. It will be built on a 9.5-hectare property owned by NPF.

“I have never met an investor for our country that, in the entirety of this whole project and investment, decided to promote our country. That is why our whole board is 200 percent supportive until the end,” Ocampo said in her speech.

Ocampo was commending Landing Philippines, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed firm Landing International Development Ltd.

It was not clear if she was already aware of Malacañang’s announcement by the time she delivered her speech. She, however, was seen in tears after the event.

A different story on Tuesday morning

On Tuesday morning, company officials held a press briefing for the event. The briefing centered around the project, as well as the supposed ban Duterte imposed on new casinos.

Back then, the moratorium was the sole issue hounding the company. Landing International COO Jay Lee said that the project should not be seen just as a casino, since it has other non-gaming revenue sources.

“Do not look at this as a casino and purely as a casino because surely it is not,” he said.

NayonLanding’s operations will pattern after the group’s $2.5 billion flagship project, the Jeju Shinwa World in South Korea.

In South Korea, two-thirds of the revenue stream is sourced from casino operations, while the remaining one-third is from non-gaming resources, he said. He said the Philippines will at least be like this.

The company enters the Philippine market at a time when the Duterte administration imposed a moratorium on new casinos, citing that the market is already overcrowded.

It is unclear if the moratorium, which came without an official order, covers new applications for casinos, or the start of their actual operations.

NayonLanding, however, will open sometime in early 2022, just when the moratorium is expected to expire, according to Lee.

Lee claimed that the Landing Group’s chairman met with President Rodrigo Duterte more than a year ago.

He said Duterte even referred the group to different government department “to help us look for a suitable site for what we intend to do in Manila.”

“I would say the policies that were explained to us at the time and now are still the same. There was no uncertainty,” he said.

Dealt with ‘most advantageous’ terms for gov’t

Tuesday afternoon was a different story. In a later statement that day, the then-fired Ocampo denied the accusation, but still accepted Duterte’s decision, thanking him for the opportunity to serve.

“We negotiated what we believed then, and believe now, are most advantageous terms and conditions for the government and the people,” Ocampo said.

NPF said monthly rentals were pegged at P360 per square meters, and the advance rental amount was placed at P827.05 million.

On top of this, NPF will receive an additional monthly rental equivalent to 10 percent of net profits from the operations of its attractions and theme parks after taxes exclusive of the value-added tax.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that it was a contract that originally was for 70 years, but was reduced to 50 years, and now to 25 years.

Despite this reduction, he said the rental payment was “still unconscionable.”

In a separate statement, the Landing International Group said that the decision to replace the top officials of NPF “did not affect the validity of the subject contract of lease.”

“Unless the lease contract is canceled or nullified on legal grounds by the courts, Landing has reason to believe that it is a valid leaseholder and can legally proceed with its project,” the statement read.

Flagged by COA report

The Commission on Audit (COA) previously flagged the agreement between NPF and Landings Philippines, essentially asking NPF to defer the approval of the lease deal.

COA said that the NPF board approved the lease proposal without conducting an independent check of the prevailing rental rates of the least property in the area.

It also said that the board did not conduct a feasibility study, and did not post a notice or advertisement to solicit offers from other interested Filipino investors.

“Thus, BOT (Board of Trustees) was not able to compare the offer of LRPDC (Landing Philippines) with other quotations/offers from interested investor[s] to determine  whether the said offer was the most advantageous to Nayong Pilipino Foundation,” the findings read.