Senate commits to fast-track bill supporting PBBM’s ban on POGOs

By Wilnard Bacelonia, Philippine News Agency

POGO RAID. Criminal Investigation and Detection Group operatives raid a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) hub in Subic, Zambales on Sept. 4, 2024. Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Thursday (Sept. 12) said the Senate is committed to fast-track a measure that will bolster the declaration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on totally banning POGOs in the country. (Photo courtesy of CIDG via PNA)

MANILA – The Senate is determined to pass a bill that will bolster the declaration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on totally banning Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in the country, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said on Thursday.

In a press briefing, Gatchalian said senators, including Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero, have agreed to hasten the passage of the bill.

“Hopefully, in the next two weeks. Simpleng bill lang naman to (This is just a simple bill), and I thank Senator Joel Villanueva, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano for initiating the bill. So, iko-consolidate na lang namin to (We will just consolidate these),” Gatchalian said after concluding the second public hearing of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means on banning POGOs.

The panel is looking into consolidating Cayetano’s Senate Bill Nos. 63, SBNs 1281 and 2752 filed by Villanueva, and SBN 2689 filed by Gatchalian.

Cayetano and Villanueva are pushing for the prohibition of all forms of online gambling, while Gatchalian wants to repeal Republic Act No. 11590 or An Act Taxing POGOs.

E-gaming

One of the discussions during the hearing was on “e-gaming” which allows online bets exclusively from local clients.

Amid some proposals to also ban it, Gatchalian said the committee is also considering the revenues that the national government is earning from e-gaming.

“Lumalaki siya (It’s getting bigger). In PAGCOR [Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation] alone is PHP22 billion, in BIR [Bureau of Internal Revenue] is already almost PHP12 billion,” he said, citing that PAGCOR earned only PHP6 billion and BIR at PHP2 billion from e-gaming three years ago.

However, Gatchalian said the committee has seen weaknesses in its regulation, particularly on how easy it is to open an e-gaming account.

He said anybody, even minors, can open an e-gaming account using a fake name and age.

“At dahil pwede kang magbigay ng pekeng pangalan, pwede ka ding pumasok sa money laundering (And since you can provide a fake name, you can also do money laundering),” he said.

“Sabi ng ating kapulisan minimal lang yung nakukuha nilang reports tungkol sa crime sa e-gaming. Pero the mere fact na may weakness sa regulatory, baka magiging mas malala to sa mga susunod na panahon (Our police said they only get minimal reports of crime in e-gaming. But the mere fact that there is a weakness in the regulatory [system], it might get worse in the future),” he said.

Meanwhile, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) Director, Undersecretary Gilberto Cruz said an executive order banning all POGOs is set to be issued by President Marcos in two weeks.

PAGCOR Chairperson and CEO Alejandro Tengco told the committee that internet gaming licensees (IGLs) will also be covered by the executive order.

Tengco said Special class BPOs (business process outsourcing) do not accept bets but only provide services to gaming companies outside the country.

“They do not accept any form of bets. The main thing that they do is serve as backroom operations of legitimate and big gaming companies based all over the world,” he said.

He said members of the Senate Committee on Games and Amusement are also set to visit three Special class BPOs to better understand its operations.