MANILA, Philippines — A service provider’s group of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) stressed that Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGSs) “dutifully pay” regulatory taxes, contrary to the allegations of some lawmakers.
In a statement, Margarita Gutierrez, spokesperson for the Accredited Service Providers Association of Pagcor (ASPAP), reminded the public to “get their facts straight” before making comments about the industry.
“Members of our organization are paying the correct taxes to the government as prerequisite to resuming operations. It is unfair to put us down without knowing the real story,” she said.
This was in response to Sen. Risa Hontiveros’ statement that POGOs had P50 billion in unpaid taxes after the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) required online retailers to pay taxes.
“Why are we lenient with POGOs but cruel to Filipinos?” Hontiveros asked.
Earlier this week, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian expressed the same sentiments, telling the BIR to focus its resources on collecting the unpaid taxes of 24 Chinese-owned POGOs instead of taxing about 900,000 online sellers in the country.
“The BIR memorandum only required these online sellers and retailers to register their businesses and does not automatically subject them to taxes,” ASPAP said in a statement.
Gutierrez added that the government collected P6.42 billion in additional personal and corporate income taxes from Pogos, stressing that they were complying with tax laws even before the pandemic.
“ASPAP members reiterate our unequivocal commitment to pay the appropriate taxes imposed by the government prior to the limited reopening of gaming operations,” she said.
As this developed, opposition lawmakers asked the House leadership to investigate reports suggesting that Chinese Pogo workers were being tested and treated for COVID-19 in illegal hospitals that had sprouted in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
In House Resolution No. 971 filed on June 11, Bayan Muna Representatives Carlos Zarate, Ferdinand Gaite and Eufemia Cullamat urged the special House committee aimed at defeating the coronavirus pandemic to investigate the matter in aid of legislation.