Palace denies exodus of POGOs

In a virtual Palace briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said only over 20 out of 60 POGOs complied with the requirements of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). (PCOO file photo)

MANILA – Malacañang on Thursday denied that there was an exodus of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in the country.

In a virtual Palace briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said only over 20 out of 60 POGOs complied with the requirements of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

“Wala naman pong malakihang exodus. Ang nangyari po ay mga 20 plus lang out of 60 ang nag-comply doon sa requirement ng BIR ‘no (There is no exodus. What happened is that there are only more than 20 out of 60 complied with the requirements of BIR),” he said.

Roque said the policy of the Department of Finance requiring POGOs to settle their tax liabilities before being allowed to resume operations amid quarantine restrictions is clear.

“So hindi naman po exodus iyan dahil malinaw naman po ang naging polisiya ng Department of Finance – pay up otherwise hindi kayo pupuwedeng mag-POGO operations dito (That’s not an exodus because the policy of the Department of Finance is clear—pay up otherwise you can’t operate here),” he added.

Roque said there was one POGO operator which left the country because the Chinese government suspected them of funding demonstrators.

“Pero iyan naman po’y kaisa-isahan lang kumpanya ‘no. So ang tingin ko po kung (But that’s only one company. So I think)—the word ‘exodus’ is not correct,” he said.

Since the number of POGO operators in the country decreased, he said critics must be happy.

“Marami pong hindi nag-comply doon sa requirement na kinakailangan magbayad ng franchise tax ang mga POGOs na dapat ikatuwa noong mga tumututol sa POGOs (There were many POGOs which failed to comply with the requirement that they need to pay franchise tax so those who are against POGOs must be happy),” he said.

Currently, around 60 POGO operators have secured licensed to operate in the Philippines.

POGOs were ordered closed in March following Duterte’s imposition of community quarantine to mitigate the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

They were allowed to resume partial operations in May, provided that they settle taxes and obtain clearance from BIR, pay fees required by Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, and shoulder the Covid-19 testing of their employees.

The Palace recognizes POGOs as the government’s tax revenue generators amid the Covid-19 crisis, but would not let them evade paying the right taxes.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III earlier said the government would continue to go after POGOs with unpaid taxes even after they decided to leave the Philippines.

Up to PHP20 billion a year in corporate and personal income taxes could be generated from POGOs, the DOF said.