Palace: Problems were there even before POGOs
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has enough basis to support his decision not to suspend the operation of the Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs), Malacañang said Monday, adding the illegal activities tied to the gambling entities have been hounding the country for a long time.
The proliferation of POGOs has been linked to unlawful activities like tax evasion, money laundering, prostitution, bribery, and human trafficking, prompting calls for Duterte to suspend or shut down their operations.
Last Thursday, Anti-Money Laundering Council Executive Director Mel Georgie Racela told senators that P14 billion worth of transactions by POGOs from 2017 to 2019 were related to "suspicious activities," including drug trafficking, violations of the E-commerce Act, and fraud.
Three days later, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Duterte would neither suspend nor stop the operation of POGOs, citing a report by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) that the government earns huge sums from them.
'He has already decided'
Asked at a press briefing on Monday whether Duterte consulted with other agencies on his decision to retain POGOs, Panelo replied: "Apparently he (Duterte) has enough basis to say not to stop or suspend, apart from PAGCOR’s recommendation or report."
"He has already decided. The president does not decide just like that. He is a very cautious person... I don’t know how he consults; but the president, when he makes a decision, it’s a decisive one and he has basis to support his decision," he added.
Panelo went on to claim that the problems associated with POGOs have been in the Philippines even before the proliferation of the gambling outlets that cater to Chinese nationals.
"The social ills you mentioned, that has been with us for the longest of time. The same problems cropped up when the Koreans came. The complaints are the same. There is prostitution... governmental agencies should address them. They have to do their work so these can be curbed," the Palace spokesman said.
"You cannot be burning the entire house just because there are so many rats there," he added.
'Reports have to be validated'
He said reports about POGO transactions being linked to illegal drugs "has to be validated."
"These are just reports. You know, there are agencies whose function is to enforce the law in their own territories, so they need to effectively to enforce the law," Panelo said.
"They are immediately being investigated. The investigation is ongoing. Anything that reaches the president are investigated immediately," he added.
Pressed whether Duterte's decision to retain POGO's could still be reversed, Panelo replied: "That’s the call of the president. Always the call of the president."
"As I said, when you make a decision, just like the president, he makes the decision on the basis of circumstances prevailing at the time of making that decision. When circumstances change, there may be a change of position. So we don't know," he added.
Panelo previously said government revenues generated from POGO operations could be used to fund programs designed to contain the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The government has generated about P7 billion from POGOs but the amount is only equivalent to 0.29 percent of the P18.6 trillion worth of the Philippine economy.
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