Senator Risa Hontiveros said former president Rodrigo Duterte had set a bad example with his open-door policy on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO), which led to a slew of criminal activities such as human trafficking, online scamming, money laundering, and possibly espionage.
Duterte's administration gave the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) leave to grant POGOs licenses, Hontiveros recalls, especially Duterte's business partners.
During his term, the Bureau of Immigration also approved the visas of Chinese nationals who worked at POGOs in the country.
The senator, who chairs the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, led the investigations on the raided POGO hub in Bamban, Tarlac, and now, the one in Porac, Pampanga.
PAGCOR has also endeavored to rebrand POGOs as Internet Gaming Licensees or IGLs--which will be operated by the same entity.
“Now they are changing the instrument. They said they have this IGL, an internet gaming license. But wait, they should step on the brakes--they’re still facilitating POGO,” Hontiveros said.
She pointed out that not only have POGOs failed to benefit the economy, they fall short on tax remittance and have bred a myriad of nefarious practices.
“Several hearings by several committees in the past four years had shown that the rosy promises of POGO had not been met. They owe the government a lot in taxes, and they really have spawned a host of evils against our citizens and our society."
No more distinctions should be made between legal and illegal POGOs as illicit operations emerge from legitimized ones, which serve as fronts.
“That takes away the reason or the excuse for anyone, past or present in government, to sponsor this vile industry that really is interconnected with criminal syndicates,” Hontiveros asserted.
House Speaker Martin Romualdez countered that completely banning POGOs would only move their operations underground. He said in a radio interview that "there seems to be big demand for it," which would make it difficult to eradicate.
“They are already here so for me, we have to follow the law--strict enforcement,” he stated.
