KALIBO, Aklan — The Catholic Diocese of Kalibo has restated its opposition to gambling on Boracay, calling on provincial and municipal officials to weigh the welfare of families above the revenue a newly opened hotel-casino on the island may bring.
The pastoral statement, signed by Kalibo Bishop Cyril Villareal, was posted by CBCP News, the news service of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, on Sunday, Oct. 4. It came less than three weeks after KABAN Hotel and Casino held its soft opening at Station 0 in Barangay Yapak, Malay, on Sept. 16.
“Boracay does not need gambling and casinos to prosper,” the statement said. It argued that the island’s “beauty, its culture, its hospitality, and its natural gifts” can already support a sustainable tourism industry.
What the Diocese Said
The diocese said it was speaking “not out of hostility toward any person, business, or worker,” but out of pastoral concern for families and the common good.
It cited paragraph 2413 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which holds that games of chance are not unjust in themselves but become morally unacceptable when they deprive people of what they or others need. The statement quoted the Catechism’s warning that “the passion for gambling risks becoming an enslavement.”
It listed harms the Church associates with gambling, including debt, money diverted from food, schooling and medicine, marital conflict, and neglect of children. “What happens when a family’s savings are lost to gambling?” the statement asked.
The diocese directly addressed the Provincial Government of Aklan, the Municipality of Malay, and other government agencies. “Economic development is important, but development must always remain at the service of the human person. Profit cannot be the sole measure of progress,” it said.
It also urged parishioners to respond to people already struggling with gambling “not with condemnation, but with compassion, truth, and concrete help,” including professional assistance.
“Our concern ultimately goes beyond the question of whether a casino is legally permitted,” the statement said. “The deeper question is: What kind of community do we want to build?”
The Casino
KABAN is a six-storey property with 88 hotel rooms and a 2,000-square-meter casino floor licensed by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), offering table games, slot machines, and electronic gaming, GMA News reported. It sits within a 23-hectare master-planned development of Golden TW Realty and Development Corp.
In a Sept. 24 release, the developer said about 40 percent of KABAN’s employees come from Aklan and that the property is meant to complement Boracay’s beaches, dining, and nightlife. Gaming is limited to guests 21 and older under responsible gaming rules, the company said.
“As we open our doors, our greatest hope is not simply for KABAN to shine in Boracay but to help the island and its people shine even brighter on the world stage,” KABAN president and CEO Kevin Wong said in the release.
Provincial Administrator Selwyn Ibarreta, representing Aklan Gov. Jose Enrique Miraflores, attended the opening along with Malay and Barangay Yapak representatives, according to the developer.
As of publication, we found no public response to the diocese’s statement from PAGCOR, the Aklan provincial government, the Malay municipal government, or Golden TW.
A Long-Running Dispute
Church opposition to casinos on Boracay is not new. CBCP News said a 2003 PAGCOR proposal for a casino complex on the island was shelved after public protests.
In 2017, the Malay Sangguniang Bayan passed Resolution No. 0068-2017, a 15-year moratorium on endorsements for casinos and other PAGCOR-sanctioned gaming in Boracay and mainland Malay, the Iloilo-based Daily Guardian reported in 2020. Then-President Rodrigo Duterte banned casinos on the island after its six-month rehabilitation closure in 2018, then announced in August 2020 that he would allow them to help fund the COVID-19 response. Then-Kalibo Bishop Jose Corazon Tala-oc appealed to him to reverse course, the Inquirer reported at the time.
Villareal was installed as bishop of Kalibo on April 23, 2026. In May, he told CBCP News that a proposed P7.94-billion bridge linking Boracay to mainland Aklan could open the island to casinos and other uncontrolled commercial growth.
Why It Matters
Boracay is one of the country’s top tourist draws and a major source of income for Aklan. The dispute pits jobs and local revenue, which the developer highlights, against the Church’s warnings about the social cost of gambling for island workers and their families. The diocese’s appeal also puts the provincial and municipal governments on the spot, since they handle local permits and endorsements.
What to Watch
- KABAN’s grand launch, scheduled for Oct. 11.
- Whether PAGCOR, the Aklan provincial government or the Malay municipal government responds to the diocese.
- How the property’s permits square with the 2017 Malay moratorium on casino endorsements, which on its face would run until 2032. We could not confirm whether that resolution was amended, lifted or found not to apply.
- Whether other Western Visayas dioceses join the call, as seven bishops did when the issue came up in 2020.
