Senator Grace Poe on Tuesday, August 15 pressed the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), in coordination with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor), to make every effort to collect the P2.2-billion dues from a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) firm that closed shop and disappeared.

Sen. Grace Poe (Senate PRIB Photo)
“Hindi lang sila nagdadala ng gulo, nagnanakaw pa sa kaban ng bayan (They did not only bring violence into the,country, they also stole government revenues),” she said.
“If this POGO is a legitimate company, in the first place, then regulators should have a way of finding it and making it settle its liabilities,” Poe, chairperson of the Senate public services committee, said.
“Every year, we rack our brains to make the limited budget cover the vast needs of all departments,” she pointed out.
Poe said there are those who argued on the financial benefits of keeping POGOs in the country and yet we have a staggering P2.2 billion in unpaid taxes.
“We hope the administration will also finally put its foot down on the existence of POGOs in the country,” she stressed.
“If the government can't make POGOs strictly comply with the laws and regulations, then they must go,” she added.