Solons air mixed views on Pogo regulation, ban

(INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ)

MANILA, Philippines — Several members of the House of Representatives aired contrasting opinions on Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez’s recent statements about Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), with one supporting his suggestions of regulating the industry rather than totally banning it.

In a statement on Thursday night, Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda said he agrees with Romualdez that a total ban on Pogos would be detrimental. This would affect legal Pogos, which have been tipping the government about non-compliant operators.

“The government should not introduce a Pogo ban. Period. It will kill any inducement to good behavior in that sector. It will also completely wipe out the incentive for legally compliant licensees to tip off illegal operations of non-compliant competitors,” Salceda said.

“In the tobacco sector, a lot of the tips on smuggling and illicit trade come from the tax-compliant companies. The same is true for Pogo. It’s a bad idea to even contemplate a total ban,” he added.

Salceda also echoed Romualdez’s fears that Pogo operators may go underground if a ban is imposed, making the company more prone to illegal activities.

“Even if you ban Pogo completely, you will continue to face the kind of problems that cause any illegal foreign operations of any kind here: porous immigration, poorly-equipped intelligence and infiltration capabilities, law enforcement that does not speak Chinese. The problem was never mainly the Pagcor (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation) regime or the tax enforcement,” he said.

In an interview with Teleradyo on Wednesday, Romualdez said he is okay with a crackdown on illegal Pogos, as those engaging in illicit and unlawful activities must be banned from operating in the country.

However, he said a total ban on Pogos might only lead to these businesses moving underground, which means the government can neither monitor these companies nor demand taxes from them.

Makabayan bloc members ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro and Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas said they do not agree with Romualdez’s position, noting that the social costs of Pogos have outweighed the benefits, if any.

According to Brosas, the government should not rely on Pogos to employ its citizens, as workers need decent jobs.

“Well, we don’t agree with it because the position of the Makabayan bloc regarding that is to totally remove Pogos in our country, because we think the social issues regarding this outweighs (benefits),” she said.

“They are saying that many jobs would be lost with a total ban.  But what the people need are decent jobs with living wages.  Not Pogos, we should not rely on Pogos for our needs,” she added.

Castro meanwhile said that while they respect the Speaker’s position on the issue, his call for stricter enforcement of laws and monitoring has already been done, but there were still instances of illegal Pogo sites being raided, where hundreds of Filipino and foreign workers were rescued from alleged human trafficking rings.

“Of course we respect the Speaker’s position regarding Pogos, that he does not want a total ban, and that we strengthen the regulations and implementation of the laws,” she said.  “But this has been done already, right?”

Castro further said that it seems the government is okay with leaving Filipinos to get hooked on gambling, given how accessible the games are.

“It’s a shame that, as I read in a study, we are the biggest country for gambling.  Even though Pogos are banned in China, we still allow it here.  Do we want our people to drown in this vice, or do we want to coddle gambling in this country?” she asked.

“I saw it yesterday […] there are even gambling sites on the internet, through e-payment facilities, which makes it very accessible.  Then Pagcor’s logo is stamped on the games.  Do we mean to say that these games are sanctioned despite it being very accessible to children?  So are we going to turn into a country of gamblers?” she added.

 Last June 11, the Makabayan bloc filed House Bill (HB) No. 10525 or the proposed Anti-Pogo Act of 2024, which will revoke existing Pogo licenses and ban future Pogo companies.

Several high-profile raids have been conducted on Pogo sites. 

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.

The Pogo was linked to suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo, whom the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) accused of having business interests in Baofu Land Development Inc., which owns the land where the raided gaming operation sits.

Guo said she divested ownership of Baofu, but the DILG believed the amount she divested for P2.5 million was “grossly incongruent to her investment in Baufo, which was approximately eight hectares of land.”