PAGCOR to go after 33 POGOs

The government regulatory agency will go after the 33 POGOs for unpaid dues; five of the sought-after POGOs already closed; some operators have already fled the country

Original story by Charie Abarca for Inquirer.net

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) on Thursday said legal action is underway for 33 Philippine offshore gaming licensees with unpaid fees.

“We are duty-bound to take a legal course of action. We are now in the process of gathering pertinent information to file appropriate cases against them,” said Pagcor Chairman and chief executive officer Alejandro Tengco in a statement.

This comes after several lawmakers criticized PAGCOR after the corporation admitted that a P2.2-billion receivable from Pogos (Philippine offshore gaming operators) was left unpaid after the licensee left the country in the middle of the pandemic.

“[Our] records show that the operators, who were given licenses during the previous administration, have not paid their license fees for over a year now in violation of Section 4.C of the Offshore Gaming Regulatory Manual,” said Tengco.

Out of the 33 erring Pogo firms, Tengco said five have already closed, but he insisted that Pagcor will ensure that “what is due shall be dealt with legally.”

But citing the “dangers” that Pogos bring and the “small revenue” these firms contribute to the government, several Senators have already expressed their position to permanently ban offshore gaming operators in the country.

PAGCOR has made headlines this year in its crackdown on illegal gambling operations.

Recently, authorities raided an alleged POGO and ‘cybercrime hub’ in Pasay City, Metro Manila; a total of 650 workers, 464 of whom are Filipinos and 186 foreigners of various nationalities, were taken into custody.

Police early this year also rescued around 3,000 Filipino and foreign workers while serving a search warrant on a Las Piñas City POGO firm allegedly involved in human trafficking and other illegal activities.

Filipino solons have likewise pushed the Marcos government to issue an absolute ban, with one senator saying that online gambling operators get away with ‘billions of unpaid taxes Other senators have cited POGOs as avenues for human trafficking and other crime.

National government figures have also made pronouncements in support of these recent developments against POGOs, with the country’s Finance Secretary saying that the revenue is not worth retaining the industry.

On the local government side, since last year, other component cities of Metro Manila have had regulations against POGOs with the latest being Valenzuela issuing an outright ban in the city.

Through it all, the regulatory agency was successful this year in raking in growth. Recently, PAGCOR also announced that it will start privatization by the year 2025, with about 50B to 60B pesos in revenue predicted.

During his State of the Nation Address, PH President Marcos  lauded the performance of the PAGCOR, citing its contributions to state revenue, on top of it recent milestone of achieving an uptick of revenue growth at 35.6%.

The government agency, which recently celebrated its 40th year, cited that its contributions could reach PHP 70B by the end of this year

Read the original article by Charie Abarca for the Philippine Daily Inquirer here: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1818238/legal-action-underway-for-33-erring-pogos-with-unpaid-fees