Chavit believes rules over Pogos should just be amended, not total ban

Luis Chavit Singson 
Videograb from the official Facebook page of Luis Chavit Singson

MANILA, Philippines — Senatorial aspirant and former Ilocos Sur Gov. Chavit Singson said on Saturday that the rules that covered the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogos) should just have been amended, and the ban had not been implemented.

This is what Singson answered when he was asked about his stand on Pogo. According to the former governor, the ban on Pogos resulted in a huge income loss for the government.

“Pogo should not have been banned. It should have just been taxed. Increase the tax of Pogos because they would just transfer [operations] or hide [from authorities],” Singson said in Filipino during a news forum in Quezon City.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in his third State of the Nation Address announced that Pogos will be banned, saying that the operations led to illegal activities such as financial scamming, human trafficking, kidnapping and even murder.

READ: DOF: Pogo ban effect on tax drive minimal

“We lost a huge amount of income. Many lost their jobs. It should have just been amended… Why are we banning it if the government receives a huge income from it?” Singson added in Filipino.

Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said in August that the Pogo ban would not affect the government’s revenue collection, citing that the government had already reached its revenue target in the first half of the year.

In June, Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda said that the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) has been modernizing its policies, adding that “the licensing regulations on offshore gaming, now known as internet gaming licensees under Pagcor’s revised rules, have significantly improved revenue collections despite also reducing the number of total licensees.”

As of July 16, 2024, there are 38 internet gaming licensees have been granted regular licenses, while seven were given provisional licenses.

Further, the Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma previously said that support would be given to displaced Pogo workers, saying that the ban will contribute to an increase in unemployment.

READ: PAOCC says 100 Pogos still operating despite ban, vows crackdown

Meanwhile, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission chief Gilbert Cruz recently said that around 100 Pogos are still operating nationwide. He also said that others are winding down their operations.

The Bureau of Immigration previously said that foreign Pogo workers only had until October 15, to voluntarily downgrade their visas from work status to a temporary visitor visa “thereby enabling them to remain legally in the Philippines for 59 days while winding down their affairs.”