MANILA - Entertainment and gaming firm Leisure and Resorts World Corp. (LRWC) on Monday defended its planned Boracay resort after stakeholders expressed dismay over the planned venture.

In a statement, LRWC said the $500 million resort, to be developed with Macau's Galaxy Entertainment, is "not a "mega casino" as detractors claim, but a top leisure destination in Boracay targeting Asian families."

The casino and gaming areas of the facility will not exceed 7.5 percent of the total floor area of the resort "at all times," LRWC said.

"Thus, the planned Boracay Resort is expected to churn more revenues from the hotel and other ancillary businesses vis-a-vis the gaming segment as it attracts customers all over the region looking for luxury Asian destinations," Atty. Katrina Nepomuceno, LRWC vice president for legal, said.

Nepomuceno said the casino-resort would target families and clients to fill up approximately 50 percent of its customers, while Chinese tourists and other travelers to the island will account for the other half.

Last week, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR) chair and CEO Andrea Domingo signed the contract for the license to jumpstart the process of securing all necessary permits and clearances prior to construction.

• 'Not a gambling destination': Boracay stakeholders decry entry of new casino-resort

On March 22, Boracay Foundation board member Connie Helgen said the island is a "wholesome" and not a gambling destination. The business group also questioned the provisional license issued to the investors amid the island clean-up.

Boracay is facing a 6-month closure after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the clean-up of the island's worsening sewage systems, calling it a "cesspool."

• Duterte slams Boracay as ‘cesspool,’ threatens to shut down island