MANILA — Despite a court decision about what happened to a recent incident over control of Okada Manila, gaming tycoon Kazuo Okada, still is headstrong in continuing his fight to have the multibillion-dollar Philippine casino under his wing. After all, the casino resort bears his name. His recent arrest in Manila really opened a new chapter and the story is turning a new leaf on his terms.
The charges of “grave coercion” have been filed due to the physical takeover of the Okada Manila integrated resort and casino by his associates in May 2022. Chairman Kazuo Okada was indeed arrested upon his arrival on Monday (October 17, 2022) but has since been released after posting bail.
He flew in from Japan against the advice of his lawyers and colleagues to do so. “I will not bow down to intimidation, and I will not back off from this legal battle. This fight isn’t over,” Okada said in a statement on Tuesday.
“I want to show to the Filipino people and the world that I am not afraid. I came back to face this ‘grave coercion’ charge against me and my associates. I have nothing to fear when I know I am standing on the right side of the law,” he said.
Further clarification presented
Lawyer and spokesperson for Chairman Kazuo Okada, Rico Quicho stated in a recent interview, “We want to be very clear that Chairman Kazuo Okada returned to the Philippines to face squarely all the trumped up charges against him. He knows how our legal system works. He knows that when he returns that there would be a service of the warrant of arrest and that under our laws he would have enough remedial measures.”
He further digressed, “Like he could avail of his right to bail and that is what he did when he arrived. So it is very unfortunate, in fact, it is very disconcerting that some sectors — some individuals would take advantage of photos, mugshots that are all part of the legal causes and leak it out to the media, to the press.”
He strongly pointed out, “So, we are here to tell everyone that Chairman Kazuo Okada will not be threatened. He will fight and he will make sure that all legal remedies would be availed of in order to protect his rights.”
See also: DOJ decision against Kazuo Okada, Tonyboy Cojuangco et al: Grave Coercion for Okada Manila takeover
“Make no mistake about it. the hotel and the casino is built by Chairman Kazuo Okada and he has all the intentions to make sure that all his rights and interests will be amply protected and at the end of the day, he would be vindicated by — from all these charges.”
Quicho also verified if there were other cases against Kazuo Okada filed, saying “No cases filed because all the criminal complaints that the other group has filed have been dismissed. That’s why they are very quiet. because if you ask them these cases, these cases have all been dismissed for lack of evidence.”
“So we are optimistic that with the legal team of our chairman, Kazuo Okada, the remaining minor setback which is the grave coercion would also be dismissed in due time.”
Expectations for the arraignment
Arraignment is set for next week, Quicho assured that “Well, that is part of the legal process. Our chairman, Kazuo Okada, together with his group have already maintained that we would follow the legal — the Philippine legal process. We would attend the arraignment and make sure that our rights would be ably protected and that our chairman, Kazuo Okada, would remain to be the chairman and at the end of the day, he would make what he built better and stronger.”
Rival camp, Kenshi Asano, Tiger Resort Asia’s director and the representative said, “We will continue to work with the law enforcement units to bring Kazuo Okada to justice, as we have done in the past in other jurisdictions.”
The other complaints filed against Kazuo Okada and associates were earlier dismissed by The Philippine Justice Department, namely: kidnapping, unjust vexation, direct assault, slight physical injuries and serious illegal detention due to lack of sufficient evidence to back them.
“I have given my instructions to my legal team to avail of all legal remedies to ensure that those who fooled and robbed me in Okada Manila be sent to jail for their lies, deceit and usurping operational control of Okada Manila,” the tycoon said.
Shedding light on these matters truly reveals how the issue of control over the multi-billion casino resort, Okada Manila is layered and absolutely complicated to grasp. The next weeks are going to be pageturners so to speak on what will be the final score of these unfortunate events.
At this point, I take sides. Most definitely, Chairman Kazuo Okada’s side. It’s as if he has been ganged up on despite being the one who built Okada Manila. Hey, the integrated resort also bears his name. This is also not a good way to encourage investors into the country. Hopefully, everything will be set right.
What’s your take on this, dear readers? Would you take sides at this point or wait and see what happens next? Comment down below, we would love to hear from you.
