Local government units should follow suit after Bulacan bans POGOs

By means of John Victor D. Ordoñez, News reporter And Chloe Mari A. Hufana

A PHILIPPINE senator on Sunday urged local government units (LGUs) to ban offshore gambling operations after Bulacan did so last week, given their alleged ties to crimes.

“LGUs should emulate the decisive action taken by the Bulacan provincial government and several other city governments to ban Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGOs) in our communities,” Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian said in a statement.

“Given the various criminal activities associated with POGO operations, our communities have a better chance of achieving inclusive economic growth without POGOs,” he added.

The senator said the ban would ensure peace and order in local communities.

The Senate Ways and Means and Dangerous Drugs Committees are ready to tackle a bill that aims to ban all forms of online gambling.

Under Senate Bill No. 1281, people who gamble on the Internet face six months in prison and a fine of as much as P500,000. The measure aims to repeal all laws, executive orders and other regulations that allow online gambling.

Bulacan Governor Daniel R. Fernando last week issued an order banning offshore gambling activities in the province.

The provincial government had also passed an ordinance banning POGOs and other similar activities within the territorial jurisdiction of Bulacan.

“There are social problems, human trafficking, torture, money laundering, kidnapping, prostitution and various crimes in POGOs,” Bulacan Vice Governor Aexis C. Castro told reporters last week after the board approved the ordinance. “We would not let these things happen in Bulacan because these are all crimes caused by POGOs.”

The Senate is in the middle of an investigation into crimes linked to POGOs, mainly Chinese gambling companies that operate online casinos from the Philippines.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) Alejandro H. Tengco told a Senate hearing last week that his agency has banned POGO hubs and was working on guidelines for these gambling operations.

Pagcor previously said the government could lose P20 billion in annual revenue if POGOs are banned.

Congress under former President Rodrigo R. Duterte passed a law taxing POGOs to legalize them, despite concerns about their social costs. Chinese President Xi Jinping had asked him to ban their operations.

The benefits of a total POGO ban outweigh the risks of their continued operations, Calixto V. Chikiamco, president of the Foundation for Economic Freedom, told reporters. Business in a Viber message.

“Economic managers agree that the social and economic costs of hosting POGOs outweigh the diminishing revenues we generate from them,” he said.

“Hosting POGOs represents a reputational risk for the Philippines and worsens our relationship with China, which also does not want these POGOs to operate here and target customers in China,” he added.

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Edwin S. Estrada, a faculty at the School of Diplomacy and Governance of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, said crimes threaten national security.

“Crime always affects national security, peace and order, whether it comes from locals or foreigners,” he said in a Viber message. “China does not want us to host POGOs precisely because of the illegal activities associated with them.”

Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said earlier that a letter had been sent to Mr. Marcos recommending a total POGO ban.

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said the Cabinet has yet to discuss the ban.

Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said Business in a Viber message that POGO activities in the country had declined over the years.

Still, he said a total ban could impact local jobs and real estate demand.

“[The ban] could have negative consequences in terms of reduced employment for locals in POGO activities, reduced demand for real estate rentals for residential, office and commercial properties and even the purchase of residential flats,” he said.

Retailers and other commercial establishments could also experience reduced demand.

“Supplies or other businesses or industries in the supply chain of POGOs may be adversely affected, such as rental/lease income, employment agencies and other associated and associated products and services that POGOs require from locals,” Mr Ricafort said.

Transportation and logistics that serve POGOs could also lose revenue, he added.

Pagcor, which regulates these gambling companies, said stricter regulation would be better.

“We prefer to simply tighten regulations and improve law enforcement against illegal operators to protect legitimate operators and foreign investors in the sector, which now includes many nationalities besides the Chinese,” Pagcor assistant deputy president of corporate communications Catalino B. Alano, Jr. said in a Viber message.

He said Chinese investors represent only 50% of licensed operators.

“We have no guarantee that once we ban the legitimate operators, they will simply close up shop and return to their countries of origin, where they will likely be prosecuted and jailed, or worse,” Mr Tengco said in a statement on July 11.

He said operators could go underground once banned. He added that the real problems are the criminal syndicates masquerading as POGOs.

The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission has raided POGO hubs believed to be linked to human trafficking and other crimes.

The Senate issued an arrest warrant for the mayor this weekend after citing her in contempt for skipping Senate hearings.