‘Duterte won’t be rushed into shutting down POGOs’

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte has no basis yet to suspend the operations of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs), Malacañang said yesterday, as it denied that the Chief Executive is too soft on issues involving China.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the President needs to have a “comprehensive report” first on the alleged illegal activities tied to POGOs before he could decide on whether to halt their operations.

“You know, when the President decides on something, he has the goods to back up his decision. If he has not received a comprehensive report on these illegal practices, then you cannot hurry him up. That’s how the President acts. He is a lawyer. We lawyers need evidence,” Panelo said at a press briefing.

“We have to wait for him (Duterte), because he will be waiting for reports coming from all agencies relative to this issue and then he will make a decision on that,” he added.

The government has earned at least P7 billion from POGOs but the proliferation of gaming hubs has reportedly spawned illegal activities led or perpetrated by Chinese like kidnapping, tax evasion, prostitution, money laundering and human trafficking.

Panelo had said Duterte may suspend the operation of POGOs if he receives verified complaints of anomalies, the same way he temporarily halted lotto operations by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) due to alleged “massive corruption” in the state-run gaming firm. The suspension of the operations of lotto and small town lottery was lifted days later.

Panelo insisted that the issues hounding POGOs cannot be compared with the controversy that surrounded PCSO.

“As far as the President is concerned, when he suspended (the PCSO-operated games), he had basis for doing so. In this case, he has no basis yet. It is still being studied,” the Palace spokesman said.

“You cannot compare because the investigation (on the PCSO games) had been completed. In this case, it’s not yet finished,” he added.

But contrary to Panelo’s claim, the suspension of lotto operation came even while the alleged irregularities were still being investigated.

When asked why the President cannot do the same to POGOs, Panelo replied: “Let’s not hurry up this President. This President is... judicious.”

Asked whether he thought the benefits of POGO operations could outweigh their negative effects, Panelo said: “Well, if you can stop all these illegal practices, then POGO is good.”

“Since it’s (POGOs) still operating, so he (Duterte) has not said that he is against it,” he added.

Panelo said POGOs are a “huge source of income” for the government and could help bankroll projects and salary hikes of nurses.

“If there is anything wrong with the system on POGO then we have to review it, evaluate it and then streamline it, improve it. And all the agencies involved must do their job, so that any corruption, any unlawful acts can be either neutralized or completely stopped,” he said.

‘Decisive’ president

Panelo also disputed Sen. Richard Gordon’s claim that the problems surrounding POGOs are caused by Duterte’s being “too soft” on China. 

“I disagree; then he (Gordon) does not know this President. The President is never soft on anything that relates to the national interest. He’s a very decisive President,” Panelo said.

“Any malpractice, any corruption, any irregularity relative to any activity or project in this government is always being investigated. And after the findings, the President will act, as always, decisively,” he said.

Panelo also denied that the administration is not doing anything about the issues tied to POGOs, saying Duterte has directed the customs and immigration bureaus, the National Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies to look into them.

He reiterated that Gordon should help the administration address the illegal activities linked to POGOs by sharing information with law enforcers.

“If one particular agency or office or any department or branch of government has knowledge of any report on any anomaly or any violation of law, then it is the duty of everyone in this government to share information. We should be cooperating with each other,” he said.

“That is precisely why I was asking and hoping that he could share that information to our police authorities, because if the police authorities do not know that yet, then that would be very welcome to them,” he added.

Panelo claimed that the government “is always concerned when any issue affects the national interest and national security.” 

At the Senate, meanwhile, Minority Leader Franklin Drilon expressed disappointment with Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) for favoring the continuous operation of POGOs, for income consideration.

Drilon said the earned income was only short term and not worth the social problems that POGOs have brought to the country.

“All these things happened since POGO came into our shores. I am disappointed at the statement today of Pagcor, saying that we are in favor of POGO continuing because of the income earned. That is a short-range statement,” he said at yesterday’s hearing on the gradual emergence of the country as a money laundering haven.

“The social problems that POGO has brought to our country are not worth it. Let me tell you that to your face. For P8 billion from fees that you get, you are saying that they should be here?” said Drilon.

“You heard what happened in Multinational Village, you saw the extent of prostitution that has happened and these are because of POGO,” said Drilon.

He noted that the fees generated from POGO by Pagcor are less than one third of one percent of the country’s economy.

Victor Padilla, senior manager of Pagcor offshore gaming licensing department, said there are 61 operators of POGOs and 240 actual POGO service providers with 12 licensed casinos and one Pagcor-operated.

Padilla admitted that there is a possibility that some illegal POGOs – estimated at over 100 – operate in residential areas in some subdivisions.

At the hearing, Gordon showed a video sent to his office by a resident of Multinational Village in Parañaque City. The video showed the Chinese residents’ disturbing behavior in the village.

 “A resident sent that video out of desperation, firing range, nagpatayan, with firearms with PLA (People’s Liberation Army) ID cards, sabi nung ambassador they were being hunted eh nakuha dun,” said Gordon.

He also scored Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) executive director Mel Georgie Racela for not acting promptly on a BOC report that a certain individual was apprehended for non-declaration of $700,000 in cash in 2019.

“If you have seen the report from Customs, is it not proper for you to check it? You have intelligence report but Customs already made arrest. The money has been spent. That means there’s a problem in your bureaucracy. That’s bureaucracy at its worst form,” Gordon told AMLC officials.

For his part, Sen. Joel Villanueva said the P8 billion in collections from POGOs by Pagcor pales in comparison to the P50 billion in uncollected taxes of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the P14 billion in suspicious transactions monitored by the AMLC.

“To say that the economic benefits, minimal and negligible at best, are justification enough to keep POGOs in Philippine shores is flimsy and myopic,” said Villanueva.

“We remind Pagcor that it’s their responsibility to ensure the entities they regulate comply with prevailing rules and regulations of our country. They are the regulator of POGOs,” he said.

“One basic fact is undeniable: allowing the continued operations of POGOs is already causing issues on peace and order in the country, as well as our economic stability, among others,” Villanueva said. – With Alexis Romero, Emmanuel Tupas