Duterte: Pogos are ‘clean’

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte insisted Tuesday night that the controversy-hit Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) are “clean” from any illicit activity.

Speaking at the 2020 General Assembly of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP), Duterte said money generated from Pogos were directly reverted to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor).

“’Yang Pogo na yan, in so far as kami dito (sa gobyerno), malinis yan. Laro ‘yan para lang sa kabila but it employs something like 20,000 dito sa Manila,” Duterte said. (This Pogo…it’s clean. It’s the game from the other side but it employs something like 20,000 in Metro Manila.)

“Walang pera diyan. Diretso sa Pagcor ‘yan,” he added. (The money from Pogos goes straight to Pagcor.)

Duterte issued the statement as he again defended his decision to continue to allow Pogo operations due to its huge revenue collection.

He said the government collects P2 billion in revenues every month from the offshore gaming industry.

Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) Executive Director Mel Georgie Racela told a recent Senate hearing that at least P14 billion worth of transactions by Pogos were related to suspicious activities

But in a press briefing Monday night, Duterte revealed he had obtained a list of bank deposits and showed no proof of money laundering activities related to the Pogos.

“We are not justifying it. We are just saying it is allowed because we need the funds, but sa speculation ng mga senador na ginagamit na laundering, mayroon kami. We have a listing of itong mga deposito nila. There is a report of money laundering, pero doon sa bangko mismo wala,” Duterte said.

The Chinese-dominated Pogos have been linked to various irregularities such as money laundering, immigration bribery scheme, illegal recruitment, and human trafficking.