Senator Win Gatchalian said a holistic approach is needed to effectively execute the President’s directive to ban all operations of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in the country by the end of the year.
“The approach should be holistic and cover all facets of the President’s declaration. The end goal is for the country to have a smooth winding down of POGO operations,” Gatchalian said.
He emphasized that the focus should extend beyond entities licensed by the Philippine Amusement and Games Corp. (PAGCOR), noting that around 200 illegal POGO operations are currently active in the country as estimated by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC).
Gatchalian stressed the need for law enforcement to target illegal POGOs still operating to ensure they are completely eliminated from the country. “Kahit na ipatigil natin ang mga lisensyadong POGO pero hindi naman natin nahahabol ang mga ilegal, mananatili pa rin ang operasyon ng POGO sa bansa. Hindi magiging epektibo ang pagsasara kung magpapatuloy pa rin ang mga scam na ginagawa nila,” he said.
Further, the senator said the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) should coordinate closely with PAGCOR to ascertain the value of gross gaming revenue (GGR) generated by each Internet Gaming Licensee (IGL), the term by which POGOs are now called.
Gatchalian noted that past hearings revealed a deficiency of P2 to P5 billion in collectibles, referring to discrepancies between the GGR declared by POGOs to PAGCOR and the GGR submitted to the BIR for tax purposes. “The GGR is the basis of payments to both PAGCOR and BIR, but PAGCOR, as the regulator, has a mechanism to verify the actual GGR. However, the declarations to the BIR are often undervalued,” he said. “Kung may utang at umalis na sila, paano pa natin mahahabol,” he pointed out.
Gatchalian also flagged a discrepancy in the number of alien employment certificates (AEP) issued by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the number of work permits issued to POGO foreign workers by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
PAGCOR reported that as of July 2024, there are 26,431 foreign workers in the POGO industry. DOLE, however, reported only 15,819 AEPs in 2024.
