There are no discussions yet among Cabinet officials regarding plans to ban the operations of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) amid the controversies surrounding the industry, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said on Tuesday, July 9.
NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan (Photos from Presidential Communications Office, Casino Filipino via Facebook)
During a Palace press briefing, the official was asked about discussions within the Cabinet about the proposed ban of POGO operations, but Balisacan stressed that the government should instead focus on creating high quality jobs.
“We haven’t really talked about it in the sense of you know I mean at the level of the economic managers, I’m not quite aware if there are other meetings but I keep my [unclear] that our attention should be…our focus [unclear] generating high quality jobs,” he said.
“I think that there are a lot of other opportunities for the country, for the economy and for our workers and we can focus on those,” the NEDA chief added.
While he admitted that revenue loss due to the possible closure of POGO companies may be a “big number,” the “social cause of POGOs are quite high.”
He also said that with the Philippines trying to position itself “as a legitimate place for business” to attract investors and tourists, having illegal and criminal activities do not help reach that goal.
“So, the social cause, the way we view it, the NEDA may not be worth those revenues, because if you succeed in generating those jobs anyway, we will get much more than what we lost,” Balisacan explained.
He also believes that the businesses that would come into the country if POGOs are banned would “generate more revenues from income taxes, corporate taxes.”
“So, if you put all this together there should be more than what you lost in the POGO,” the official said.
In September last year, Balisacan admitted that he would recommend to President Marcos the banning of POGO operations, and maintained that legitimate investments must be encouraged instead of POGOs.
Earlier this week, Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Ralph Recto also said he would recommend halting POGO operations because of the recent issues.
Meanwhile, Department of Labor (DOLE) Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said that regardless of what the decision would be in terms of banning POGOs, the agency has to be ready in providing aid to the affected workers.
“Sa (With) DOLE, we always our concern with lost of employment, but we will always in a sense follow, abide kung ano man iyong (whatever the) decision vis-à-vis this item,” he explained.
“In the meantime, we have already done profiling of those who will be affected just in case magkaroon talaga ng desisyon na isara iyan (there’s a decision to close it down),” the official added.
DOLE must focus on job facilitation, such as job fairs, with the private sector to provide opportunities for workers who will be affected by the closure of POGO hubs.
Philippine authorities have been investigating illegal POGO hubs in Bamban, Tarlac and Porac, Pampanga, among others.
The raids led to the rescue of torture and kidnap victims and the discovery of items allegedly being used for criminal activities.