MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his administration must state their stand on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogos) amid calls to ban these in the country due to the social costs, two lawmakers said on Tuesday.
Senator Risa Hontiveros and Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, on separate occasions, said the administration must break its silence about Pogos as investigations show that many Pogos are linked to human trafficking rings, kidnapping, prostitution, and even torture.
According to Hontiveros, if Marcos can talk about the West Philippine Sea (WPS), he should speak even more about Pogos.
“I really don’t know what he’s waiting for, as Pagcor said that Pogos are only generating P5 billion despite their rosy promises before. They owe a lot in terms of taxes, and then when you put into the balance all the social and now political costs of Pogo, it seems that it does not have any benefit; it’s only about … the cost to the Philippines,” Hontiveros said in Filipino during an interview on ABS-CBN News Channel’s Headstart.
“If he can unequivocally push back against China on the West Philippine Sea issues, why does it seem like he is dragging his feet when it comes to Pogos? Or is he waiting for better timing? Is he weighing on something, but there are already several Senate committee investigations done on it … So what is the President waiting for?” she added.
Barbers echoed the same sentiments.
“The social cost of this industry was proven to be so high that…it is not commensurate with the revenues that we are getting, so we should have a strong position about this,” Barbers said in Filipino when asked in a press briefing on whether the administration should start speaking about Pogos.
“The administration should already start talking about this,” he added.
In October 2022, then Press Undersecretary Cheloy Garafil said Marcos was “closely monitoring” issues on Pogos.
READ: Bongbong Marcos ‘closely monitoring’ POGO issue — Palace
In January 2023, Marcos said he was not rushing to ban Pogos despite suggestions by some groups, noting that the crackdown should be against illegal Pogos because legal operators pay taxes.
READ: Bongbong Marcos in no rush to ban POGOs
However, last March 13, 371 Filipinos and 497 foreigners were rescued from a legal Pogo in Bamban, Tarlac, which was raided for alleged involvement in human trafficking.
READ: Over 800 Filipinos, foreign Pogo workers rescued in Tarlac raid
The Pogo was linked to suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo. The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) accused the local chief executive of having business interests in Baofu Land Development Inc.
Baofu owns the land where the raided Pogo sits. The DILG said Baofu, as represented by Guo, who was president of the company, purchased eight parcels of land in Bamban in February 2019.
Guo said she divested ownership of Baofu, but the DILG believed the amount she divested it for — P2.5 million — was “grossly incongruent to her investment on Baufo, which was approximately eight hectares of land.”
Senators believed Guo’s real identity was that of Chinese national Guo Hua Ping, as the National Bureau of Investigation confirmed that the fingerprints of the two personalities matched.
READ: Mayor Alice Guo is also Chinese woman Guo Hua Ping, NBI confirms
There are proposals to ban Pogos in the country. Last June 11, Makabayan bloc lawmakers filed House Bill No. 10525, or the proposed Anti-Pogo Act of 2024, which seeks to revoke the licenses and ban future Pogos due to the social cost they bring.