Megaworld unit backs Razon mega-vaxx facility
MEGAWORLD unit, Westside City Resorts World Inc. (WCRWI), supports government’s vaccination efforts and said it is lending its property in the planned mega-vaccination facility in Parañaque City.
In a letter addressed to the Businessmirror, WCRWI President and Chief Executive Officer Kingson U. Sian clarified, “The proposed mega vaccination center is planned to be built on the land that Nayong Pilipino Foundation [NPF] has earmarked for the development of its cultural park known as Project Sambayanihan. Said site is not the same as the land under lease to WCRWI which is an idle land situated opposite the vaccination center site and is across the water channel.”
He added, the company “fully supports Mr. Enrique K. Razon’s plan to build the mega vaccination center and has in fact allowed Mr. Razon’s ICTSI Foundation to use a portion of [WCRWI’S] property as temporary construction staging area, as earlier requested.” Razon is chairman of listed global port operator ICTSI, whose foundation has proposed the establishment of the mega-vaxx center with drive-through service.
Sian underscored, “There is a significant difference between the contract of WCRWI and the contract of Landing International. The contract between NPF and WCRWI is an ordinary lease contract covering a smaller piece of land across the water channel which NPF considers as an idle asset; whereas, the contract between NPF and Landing was on the bigger tract of land earmarked for the development of the NPF cultural and theme park.” Landing pertains to an earlier agreement that the previous NPF board had with a gaming firm, which was ordered canceled by President Duterte for being disadvantageous to the government.
WCRWI’S forerunner is Resorts World Bayshore City Inc., which has a 25-year lease agreement with NPF for a 5.5-hectare property where an integrated casino resort and hotel will be constructed.
According to Commission on Audit reports from 2014 to 2019, RWBCI paid advance lease rentals to NPF amounting to P1-billion. However, NPF failed to collect valueadded tax amounting to P120 million corresponding to 12 percent of the P1 billion advance rental, and thus, did not remit VAT to the Bureau of Internal Revenue as required by revenue regulations.