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MANILA, Philippines — A “former high-ranking government official” attempted to expedite the issuance of gaming licenses to certain illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) recently raided for illicit activities, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) revealed.
In a statement on Saturday, Pagcor Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Alejandro Tengco urged authorities investigating the suspicious activities of former Pogo licensees to probe the role of past officials in granting licenses to applicants with questionable backgrounds.
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Tengco advised he would disclose the name of the former government official in a proper forum, as well as how illegal offshore gaming operations spread.
“As a regulator, it is our mandate to ensure that only those with valid licenses are allowed to operate all forms of gambling and gaming activities, whether these are land-based casinos or online platforms,” he said, as quoted in a statement.
“It is in the interest of the government to crack the whip against illegal operators, including the so-called offshore gaming operators, or Pogos and their backers, because the criminal activities associated with their illegal operations pose serious threats to our people,” Tengco added.
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While the number of Pogo licensees has dropped significantly from 298 under the previous administration to just 43 now, Tengco remains suspicious about how the initial 298 secured their licenses.
“What we need to question, in the first place, was how those 298 Pogo licensees were able to secure their licensees in the past because clearly, during our cleansing process, we found most of them to be ineligible and outright suspicious,” he said.
“We are also ready to reveal the roles of other controversial individuals behind these criminal Pogo enterprises,” he added.