Villanueva dares Pagcor chief to face inquiry to explain Pogo data

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Joel Villanueva on Friday challenged the country’s state gaming regulator chief to face his Senate inquiry into Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) to explain the conflicting data on the number of Filipinos employed in the industry.

In February, the senator cited data from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) which showed that as of December 2019, only around two in 10 available jobs—or 17.7 percent— in the POGO industry go to Filipinos.

But Pagcor chair Andrea Domingo said Filipinos comprise a quarter of the POGO workforce, debunking claims that the controversial industry favors Chinese workers.

When asked to comment on the data cited by Domingo, which ran counter to what he earlier presented, Villanueva said the Pagcor chief should just attend the hearings so that she can fully explain the figures herself.

“Siya ang umattend sa hearing natin. Bakit ba lagi siyang nagtatago tuwing tayo ay nagkakaroon ng pagdinig. Hinahamon natin siya na siya yung mag-explain nito sa atin. Hindi sa akin mismo galing ang data. Ang data ay galing mismo sa Pagcor noong pagdinig natin,” the senator told reporters in an online conference.

(Maybe she should attend our hearing. Why is she always hiding whenever we conduct an inquiry? I’m challenging her to explain the data to us. The data I presented did not come from me but from Pagcor).

“Tatlong malalaking kompanya ng POGO service providers… 3,000 mahigit ang kanilang empleyado pero zero Filipino workers. Yung ilan meron, isa, dalawa, apat. Pinakita natin ito and transparent naman tayo tuwing nagkakaron tayo ng pagdinig,” he insisted.

(In three big POGO service providers, they have 3,000 employees but no Filipino worker. Their are other POGO companies that have one, two, or four Filipino workers. We showed this and we were transparent during the hearing).

Issues surrounding the industry resurfaced after Domingo confirmed that the country’s COVID-19 task force has allowed the partial reopening of POGOs amid the quarantine being enforced by the government to curb the spread of the virus.

Villanueva, who chairs the Senate labor committee, has previously led several hearings into the influx of illegal foreign workers in the country, most of whom are employed in POGO companies.

The Senate labor panel would likely conduct one more hearing before they collate their findings in a report, according to the senator.

The senator said he is not convinced that Pagcor is sincere on cracking down on POGO companies who are not paying the right taxes.

In a hearing of the labor committee last February, an official from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said majority of the licensed POGOs in the country have yet to pay an estimated total of P50 billion from their franchise, corporate and other taxes.

“Anong ginagawa ng ating state gaming regulator para ma-force itong mga POGOs na ito na binigyan nila ng lisensya para magbayad ng buwis…Hanggang ngayon hindi pa rin tayo kombinsido na sila ay sinsero, na gusto nilang gawin yung trabaho nila para masiguro naman na may good faith na nangyayari at mapagkakatiwalaan talaga ang state gaming operator natin,” Villanueva went on.

(What is our state gaming regulator doing to force these POGOs, which they have given licenses to, to pay their taxes. Until now I’m not convinced that they are sincere, that they are doing their job to ensure that there is good faith and that out state gaming operator can be trusted).

EDV