The searched premises of Lucky South 99 are inside a 5.8-hectare complex with a total of 46 buildings, some of them visible in this photo. —photo by Jun A. Malig
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) said on Saturday that a former “high-ranking” Cabinet official had been lobbying for granting licenses to illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) which have been recently raided.
Pagcor chief Alejandro Tengco said in a statement that he would reveal the identity of the former Cabinet official as well as the circumstances that led to the proliferation of illegal and criminal offshore gaming operations in the “proper forum.”
“We are also ready to reveal the roles of other controversial individuals behind these criminal Pogo enterprises,” Tengco said.
READ: Pogo proliferation points to potential covert spying in PH – Hontiveros
He also urged those investigating the suspicious activities of former licensed Pogos to further look into the role of “former officials and conduits” in granting licenses to Pogo applicants with “doubtful backgrounds.”
Tengco said illegal Pogos posed “serious threats to our people.”
The two prominent Pogos that were raided and closed this year were Zun Yuan Technology Inc. in Bamban, Tarlac, and Lucky South 99 Corp. in Porac, Pampanga.
READ: House bill filed to ban Pogos, revoke licenses
Both Pogos are facing human trafficking cases. Zun Yuan was raided in March and Lucky South in early June.
The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), with support from the Philippine National Police, led the operations against the two Pogo companies.
Currently, there are only 43 licensed Pogos in the country, down from 298 licensed Pogos during the Duterte government, as the current administration continues to clamp down on criminal activities of illegal Pogos.
The ongoing crackdown on illegal Pogos followed reports of human trafficking, scams, torture and kidnapping associated with their operations.
Pagcor has not responded to the Inquirer’s requests for other details.
Why only now?
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, who is pushing for a total ban on Pogos, said he would ask Pagcor to submit to the Senate an official report on the alleged role of the former Cabinet official.
Gatchalian, however, was puzzled by the failure of Pagcor officials to bring up this alleged lobbying by the former Cabinet official in any of the three previous Senate hearings led by Sen. Risa Hontiveros that looked into Pogo-related crimes.
“We learned about this only now,” he said. “But it’s important to make this person liable if the allegations are true.”
Gatchalian said that he would ask Hontiveros to invite to their next hearing the former Cabinet official cited by Tengco.
“To be honest, I also have some names, but I would rather not mention them because I don’t have documents (to prove their possible connection),” Gatchalian said in an interview with “Usapang Senado” over radio dwIZ.
He said the names were just “relayed” to him and the information was “very raw.”
Roque document
“Let’s just wait for the official documents to be submitted,” Gatchalian said.
Pressed to elaborate, he pointed out that the former Cabinet official was recently mentioned after the raid on the Porac Pogo complex.
The senator was apparently referring to Harry Roque, who served as spokesperson for former President Rodrigo Duterte. Roque’s name and signature allegedly appeared in an official document that was found in one of the buildings owned by Lucky South.
Roque had previously said that he had “no idea” why that document ended up inside the raided Pogo building, but admitted that he served as counsel for Whirlwind Corp., which authorities believed was connected to Lucky South.
Hontiveros said she would invite Tengco to attend the next hearing of the Senate committee on women, children, family relations and gender equality, which she heads.
“I hope the Pagcor chief deems it the right forum to reveal what he knows,” Hontiveros said, noting that Tengco had only sent his subordinates to participate in the Senate inquiry.
“Whoever that ex-Cabinet official turns out to be, the fact remains: Pogos are being used as a legal cover for scam hubs. The Senate investigation has shown that despite having legal licenses issued by Pagcor, criminal activities still persist in Pogos,” she added.
Own rules violated
The state gaming regulator should stop arguing that “illegal Pogos” are different from those operating with valid government-issued permits, Hontiveros said.
“The entire industry has been the cause of numerous crimes that endanger women, children and the most vulnerable in our society,” she said.
Gatchalian said that Pagcor and its officials should also be held accountable for their shortcomings that resulted in the proliferation of Pogo-related crimes.
According to him, Pagcor itself had violated its own rules when it failed to conduct a “probity check” on Pogos applying for gaming permits.
Gatchalian cited the case of Hongsheng Gaming Technology Inc., Zun Yuan’s predecessor, which leased the property that suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo had previously owned.
He said Hongsheng incorporator Merlie Joy Castro testified that four of the five registered shareholders of Hongsheng were market vendors.
Even his own staff members were surprised to learn that Hongsheng’s registered “incorporators” lived in shanties when they personally checked their addresses, Gatchalian said.
Senators had taken Pagcor officials to task for their continued failure to keep Pogos in check despite several law enforcement operations that revealed the link of such facilities to online fraud, human trafficking, prostitution, torture, murders, kidnapping and other serious crimes.
Gatchalian had previously pointed out that the raided Pogos in Metro Manila and Clark in Pampanga, were able to conduct illegal activities despite being under Pagcor’s supposed round-the-clock monitoring.
Opposed to total ban
Pagcor opposes a total ban on Pogos because they bring in revenues needed by the government.
In 2023, the government earned P5.2 billion from the 48 Pogo companies, according to Tengco.
Pogo revenues account for about 5 percent or 6 percent of Pagcor’s revenues.
According to data from the Department of Finance, the government’s tax intake from Pogos ballooned by 127 percent to P8.88 billion in 2022 from P3.91 billion in 2021.
Their payments to the Bureau of Internal Revenue surged despite the declining presence of these companies in the country.
Pogos paid P4.35 billion in withholding tax, P3.65 billion in gaming tax and P806 million in income tax. They also paid P43.2 million in business tax, P19.42 million in documentary tax stamps, and P9 million in other taxes.
According to data available from Pagcor’s website, there are 38 registered Pogos and seven more with provisional licenses as of June 24. —with a report from Inquirer Research