Senators and House member back calls to padlock POGOS
TWO senators backed the clamor—fueled Secretary Benjamin by Finance Diokno’s statement on “reputational risks”— to finally shut down all Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations [POGO] in the country, given the sharp decline in revenues and the spike in violent crimes associated with them.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and Senator Imee Marcos said in separate occasions that it is time to take seriously the concerns raised by the Department of Finance (DOF) chief himself at last week’s Senate Finance Committee hearing that it may be time to let go of the POGOS, on which the government had for years relied on for multibillion revenues.
The amount of taxes collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) from POGOS and their service providers slid 46 percent from P7.18 billion in 2020, putting an end to the upward collection trend pre-pandemic. In 2019, the POGO tax take reached P6.42 billion. It amounted to P2.38 billion in 2018, when the government started to squeeze POGO of their tax obligations.
Pimentel welcomed the pronouncement of his fellow Senator Imee Marcos that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is considering a ban on POGOS in the country.
“It is a welcome development. Coming from the President’s sister herself, I would like to believe that we are moving in that direction of totally halting the operation of POGOS in the country,” Pimentel said.
“Let’s prohibit it. POGOS is detrimental to the Republic of the Philippines,” Pimentel stressed.
Airing growing concerns that “the continued operation of POGOS in the country is dangerous” Pimentel warned,“itisakintoharboringwouldbe criminals and gangsters that can eventuallycausemassivedisruptionof peaceandorderinthecountryasweare beginning to see now with the spate of kidnappingincidenceandotherviolent activities related to POGOS.”
Pimentel proposed Monday that
Malacañang should heed the call for a total ban on POGOS as he lamented how “the country has become a playground for undesirable foreign nationals.” The Minority Leader reiterated a call he made over the weekend for the government and Congress to make POGOS illegal. “Kung sa China, where most of these people come from, bawal ang POGOS, why did we open our doors to POGOS?” Pimentel asked. At the same time, Pimentel also urged the leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives to make the banning of POGO a legislative priority. “Given what we are seeing now as numerous ill effects of POGOS, the Congress has the moral duty to ban POGOS. We should act now. It will be a bipartisan measure,” the senator stressed. “We can’t afford to dilly-dally on banning POGOS when the nation’s moral fiber and peace and order are on the line,” Pimentel pointed out. He told ruling party leaders to “get your act together. If you say ‘stop POGOS,’ we will support you.”
Imee for winding down
IN previous interview, Senator Imee Marcos also pushed for the “winding down” of POGO operations in the Philippines, noting how other countries had banned it precisely because the risks outweighed the benefits.
Marcos earlier joined other senators in filing a resolution to investigate abduction cases related to POGOS. In her view, “it is time to wind it [POGOS] down.”
Marcos revealed that she and fellow senators discussed with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. when the lawmakers met with the Chief Executive in Malacañang to discuss issues related to the debts of land reform beneficiaries. When “he [Marcos] signed it [the land reform reprieve],” the senator noted, “the POGO issue remained a hot topic.”
“As I said, if it cannot be enforced, as it appears so, because it has been there a long time ago and just getting worse, let us just stop it,” Sen. Marcos said, noting that in the similar case of e-sabong, “they may earn small income but it will cause trouble in the country.”
At the same time, the senator said the President has “not yet made up his mind ” on whether to permanently shut down the remaining operations that survived the pandemic.
But, she said it is good that “it turns out that Secretary Ben Diokno and I have the same view. Although he is a Secretary of Finance—and like former Secretary [Carlos] Dominguez before, they are really going out of their way to chase revenues for the country—he has also pointed out that the reputational risk to the Philippines is not worth it, that’s what he said at the [Senate Finance committee] hearing. So we’re of the same view: the crime, the social cost, the violence triggered by POGOS is not worth it, compared to what the government will earn.
Speaking partly in Filipino, she aired suspicion that “some other parties may be reaping so much more, compared to the tiny sums that go directly to our Treasury.”
Asked if the closure of POGOS might dent Philippine relations with China, Sen. Marcos reminded, “POGO is really banned in their country. They have told us several times to please stop it here. Of course, they don’t meddle, because they know we have a gambling regime, we have a law that mandates regulators like Pagcor [Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.], Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office [PCSO], they don’t have laws like those.”
The senator also recalled “we in Ilocos were among the first [to allow it, right]? In Fort Ilocandia? At the start, it seemed good because there were high rollers, it was well regulated Pagcor was earning a lot. But towards the end, the police could no longer regulate it, Immigration was a mess, and even Customs allowed the entry of just anybody and there was credit card fraud. So in the end, I said, let’s stop this, because the trouble it causes is not really worth it.”
‘Leave the country’
IN the House of Representatives, Manila
Sixth District Rep. Bienvenido Abante on Monday said POGOS must leave the country, claiming that the industry is doing “more harm than good” amid a string of crimes involving POGOS.
“The recent spate of crimes involving POGO employees contribute to the growing mountain of evidence that strengthens the case for the prohibition of POGOS in the country,” said Abante, who claims to be a longtime anti-gambling advocate.
Abante said he made his call following recent statements from highranking government officials that questioned the “merits” of allowing POGOS to operate in the country.
“Recently, the Department of Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno echoed a point I have made all along: that the social costs of POGOS far outweigh their benefits,” he said.
“Maliit ang kita natin dito, pero malaki ang perwisyo na dinudulot nito, [We are earning measly but the problems caused by this industry are huge],” he added.
Abante lamented that government resources were being utilized to address Pogo-related crimes, such as kidnapping, offsetting whatever financial earnings collected by the government.
“The PNP-CIDG [Philippine National Police - Criminal Investigation and Detection Group] revealed that there may be at least five kidnap for ransom groups targeting POGO workers now operating in the country, and for them to thwart and capture these criminals, resources will have to be mobilized,” Abante said.
“If that is the case then we may end up losing more revenue than we earn, especially if these kidnapping incidents scare off investors who are thinking of bringing their businesses to the country,” Abante explained.
Abante said he is “not surprised” that no less than President Marcos is contemplating “banning” POGO firms in the country.
“That is why I am not surprised that the President is seriously considering banning POGO firms, because even he sees the downsides of allowing these gambling operations in the Philippines,” he added.
In the 18th Congress, Abante filed House Bill Number 6701 or the ANTIPOGO Act of 2020, which if passed would have prohibited the “conduct of online games of chance or sporting events via the Internet using a network and software or program, exclusively to offshore authorized players, within Philippine territory.”