MANILA, Philippines—Instead of being a hub of used-vehicle imports, Port Irene in Cagayan province can concentrate on developing its niche as an offshore base for high-end rollers who do their gambling online, according to the American Chamber of Commerce.

In a report by its delegation that visited Port Irene last May, the AmCham said: “The Cagayan Export Zone (CEZ) Freeport appears to have good prospects to develop its new gambling business. Gambling by Chinese visitors is growing at the CEZ Freeport. For the CEZ, its “Cybercity” project means “cybergambling.”

As this business grows, other recreational projects could follow to provide gamblers and accompanying family members more activity options, it said.

AmCham sent a team to Port Irene specifically to inspect the flourishing second-hand vehicle import business that has been the bane of the local automotive industry, including one of the chamber’s members, Ford Motor Philippines.

“Closing the CEZ used-car lots would have little impact on the local economy. They employ small numbers who could find work in the growing gambling business,” the chamber said.

The Cagayan Export Zone Authority (CEZA) cited Republic Act No. 7922, the 1995 law authored by then Rep. Juan Ponce Enrile creating the special economic zone in Cagayan, specifically stating its right “to operate on its own, either directly or through a subsidiary entity, or license to others, tourism-related activities, including games, amusements, recreational and sports facilities such as horse racing, dog racing, gambling casinos, golf courses, and others, under priorities and standards set by the CEZA.”

Outside Pagcor’s reach

This makes Port Irene the only free port legally allowed to host and issue an online gambling license to offshore companies outside the reach of the gaming monopoly of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor).

The Port Irene gambling operations have not caught the ire of the Catholic Church mainly because these cater only to foreigners, according to James Kocher, Enrile’s son-in-law who met the AmCham visitors. The place is off-limits to Filipinos.

“Why would a Macau resident travel to such a remote location? The answer provided by CEZA is the odds are better for the gambler because the ‘bank’ or casino operator charges less at the CEZ Freeport than at Pagcor casinos in the Philippines or at casinos in Macau,” AmCham said.

The high-stakes players from Taiwan and Hong Kong send in proxy players to the area while they play in one of the online gaming platforms being operated out of the CEZ, which currently has 195 rooms. Four hundred rooms are planned for this year.

AmCham said the CEZA wanted to add an “initial 800 rooms and two casinos and plans for more.”

International airport

Although air access is limited (currently through a naval air station in San Vicente town and another airport in Tuguegarao City), the CEZA told AmCham officials that funds were available to begin construction this year of “an international airport in Santa Ana with a 2.5-kilometer runway, replacing the planned new airport in nearby La-lo municipality to the west.”

The CEZA said it was looking for investors who will finance the laying of fiber-optic cables to Hong Kong and Taiwan to upgrade the quality of the Internet connection in Port Irene.

CEZA officials were also bullish on Cagayan’s tourism potential. They are inviting four-star resort investors to come and look at white-sand beaches, mangrove forest, rivers and the possibility of developing the province as the ocean-sports-fishing capital of the Philippines.