The Department of Finance (DOF) wants the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) to present a long-term plan on its conflicting roles as a gambling regulator and operator in the country.

Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno’s pronouncement came after he told lawmakers during the Development Budget Coordination Committee briefing with the House Appropriations Committee last Friday that the government “will be very aggressive in our privatization effort.” Diokno said the sale of Pagcor’s gaming assets is among the options being considered by the Marcos administration to raise additional revenues.

With that, Diokno told reporters that “Pagcor’s new leadership will have to make known their plans moving forward. They should resolve the seemingly conflicting roles as an operator and regulator.”

“The new leadership should consider the worthiness of their move appropriate to their role,” he added.

This is not the first time that the DOF considered to put Pagcor’s gaming assets on the auction block.

Former Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III had attempted to privatize 17 Casino Filipino centers owned by Pagcor in 2018. This plan, however, did not proceed.

Pagcor, the government’s third largest revenue generating agency, had supported the planned sale, but also warned that the government would lose P24 billion annually after the disposal of its commercial activities.

Last week, Pagcor’s new board members had sworn into office, with Alejandro H. Tengco as chairman and chief executive officer, replacing Andrea D. Domingo who held the position during former President Duterte’s six-year term.

In 2018, the Governance Commission recommended the rationalization of the Pagcor by separating the commercial and regulatory functions of the state-owed firm.

According to GCG, Pagcor currently has “conflicting” commercial and regulator functions.

In the first six-months of the year, Pagcor generated P26.7 billion in revenues, up 68 percent from P15.88 billion in the period in 2021.

Pagcor’s end-June income also exceeded by nine percent its P24.41 billion target.

In the first semester, Pagcor raised P24.7 billion from gaming operations, an increase of 67 percent compared with P14.77 billion a year earlier. Likewise, this amount surpassed the P24.21 billion target.

Income from other services and business also improved, registering P890 million. This was 18 percent higher than the previous year’s P753.63 million and more than the P191.34 million goal.

Pagcor also booked P1.03 billion gains and P56.73 million from other non-operating income in the first half of the year.

In 2021, Pagcor net income dropped nearly 87 percent to P203.6 million from P1.55 billion in the previous year.