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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Salceda tells Marcos admin: 'Don't ban POGOs, period' 

Salceda tells Marcos admin: 'Don't ban POGOs, period' 

Published Jul 5, 2024 03:54 am

At A Glance

  • Economist-solon Albay 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda has given his most impassioned defense of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) yet, saying it is unwise for the Marcos administratio to ban the sector. 

IMG-56d0d7cd1911a59c927b6e7594506625-V.jpgAlbay 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda (Rep. Salceda's office)

Economist-solon Albay 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda has given his most impassioned defense of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) yet, saying it is unwise for the Marcos administratio to ban the sector.

"The government should not introduce a POGO ban. Period," Salceda, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, said in a statement late Thursday night, July 4.

Salceda said that a POGO ban "will kill any inducement to good behavior in that sector".

"It will also completely wipe out the incentive for legally compliant licensees to tip off illegal operations of non-compliant competitors," he said.

Citing the example of the local tobacco sector, Salceda claimed that a lot of the tips on smuggling and illicit trade come from the tax-compliant companies.

"The same is true for POGOs. It's a bad idea to even contemplate a total ban," he noted.

"Even if you ban POGOs completely, you will continue to face the kind of problems that cause any illegal foreign operations of any kind here: porous immigration, poorly-equipped intelligence and infiltration capabilities, law enforcement that does not speak Chinese," Salceda said.

"The problem was never mainly the Pagcor (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation) regime or the tax enforcement," he argued.

"Keep the Pagcor rules. Keep the POGO Tax Law, which at least sets what the government can do to apprehend offenders. Funnel some of the revenues towards law enforcement capabilities. That's what we should do," Salceda said.

POGOs proliferated during the previous Duterte administration.

Many of Salceda's lawmaker-colleagues are pushing for a total POGO ban over the various criminal activities that these operators have been linked to. These have included syndicated crimes.

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