The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) has refuted claims of instructing local government units (LGUs) to immediately halt the operations of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) by early August.
In a statement on Saturday, July 27, Jessa Mariz Fernandez, head of Pagcor’s offshore gaming licensing department, clarified that the purported memorandum targeting POGOs was fraudulent and not issued by the gaming regulator.
Fernandez explained that the document allegedly sent to LGUs in Metro Manila on July 26 was a forged version of a memo she had circulated on July 23, a day after the President's State of the Nation Address.
“We have not issued a memorandum ordering LGUs to immediately close down POGO operations in their jurisdiction because the President’s order is very clear: We have until the end of the year to wind down POGO operations, and we will follow that,” Fernandez said.
The fake memo was telling select LGUs in Metro Manila to terminate POGO operations “within the first week of August”.
“This is a clear disinformation intended to create chaos and confusion,” she said. “Whoever is behind this clearly has ulterior motives, and we shall ask the National Bureau of Investigation to investigate and unmask them to determine their motives.”
She said the spurious memo used her earlier letter to Internet Gaming Licensees and service providers last July 23 advising them that, “pending finalization of the details and process of winding down, operations may remain in the status quo”, referring to the President’s order to close down POGOs during his State of the Nation Address last July 22.
“We reiterate, and we advise our LGUs, that licensed IGLs can continue operating until we have determined the process of winding down their operations, which we currently have not yet finalized,” Fernandez said.