Angara favors phaseout of Pogos

Sen. Sonny Angara —Senate PRIB

Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, chair of the Senate finance committee, on Friday agreed that Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), particularly those complying with existing laws and regulations, should be allowed to stay in the country for a while longer.

“The immediate closure of illegal Pogos is definitely called for, but for the legitimate operators who pay their taxes and employee benefits, and have made substantial investments, there should be a longer period to phase out,” Angara said in a statement.

Angara has yet to sign the report prepared by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, who had recommended shutting down the Chinese-owned online gaming establishments that proliferated during the Duterte administration.

Gatchalian, who presided over the Senate inquiry on Pogos as head of the Senate ways and means committee, said the industry “has turned out to be useless.”

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