Palace: No favoritism in allowing Pogos to resume ops during quarantine

MANILA, Philippines — There is no favoritism in allowing Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) to partially resume operations amid the quarantine period now being enforced by the government, Malacañang said Saturday.

“Wala pong favoritism dyan, on the contrary, the equal protection clause po provides that all those similarly situated must be treated alike,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in the Laging Handa online press briefing.

(There’s no favoritism, on the contrary, the equal protection clause provides that all those similarly situated must be treated alike.)

This comes after House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said that he was morally opposed in the resumption of Pogo operations, adding that the green light given to them indicated “favoritism” for the gaming business.

Roque also reiterated that Pogos were allowed to partially resume operations as they belong to the business processing output (BPO) industry.

“Ang inapruba po ng IATF ay ang pagbubukas ng mga BPO, so matagal na po yang approval na ‘yan. So ang Pogo naman kasi ay isang klase ng BPO,” Roque said.

(The IATF approved the resumption of BPOs, that’s already been approved. Pogos are a kind of BPO.)

“Dahil isang BPO po ang Pogo, kinakailangang mapabuksan din sila be it [enhanced community quarantine] or [general community quarantine] (So since Pogo is a BPO, we need to resume operations be it be it under ECQ or GCQ),” he added.

Previously, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) Andrea Domingo said that only Pogos will be allowed to partially operate, given that only 30 percent of manpower in Pogos will be allowed to report. 

/MUF