Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Friday, September 13 said a holistic approach is needed to effectively implement President Marcos’ directive to ban all operations of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in the country by the end of the year. 

But the focus should extend beyond entities licensed by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). 

“The approach should be holistic and cover all facets of the President’s declaration. The end goal is for the country to have a smooth winding down of POGO operations,” Gatchalian said.

Based on the estimates of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), the senator noted that there around 200 illegal POGO operations that are currently active in the country. 

Gatchalian warned it would be futile for the government to completely eliminate POGO operations if illegal POGOs are still operating within the country.

“Kahit na ipatigil natin ang mga lisensyadong POGO pero hindi naman natin nahahabol ang mga ilegal, mananatili pa rin ang operasyon ng POGO sa bansa. Hindi magiging epektibo ang pagsasara kung magpapatuloy pa rin ang mga scam na ginagawa nila (Even if we stop the licensed POGOs but we don't go after the illegal ones, the POGO operation in the country will still remain. The closure will not be effective if the scams they are doing continue),” he said.

The lawmaker also said it is imperative for the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to be able to ascertain the value of the gross gaming revenue (GGR) generated by each Internet Gaming Licensee (IGL), the term by which POGOs are now called.

He noted that in the past hearings, there are glaring discrepancies between the GGR declared by POGOs to PAGCOR and the GGR they submit to the BIR for tax purposes.

Accordingly, authorities revealed a deficiency of P2-billion to P5-billion in collectibles by these POGOs.

“The GGR is the basis of payments to both PAGCOR and BIR, but PAGCOR, as the regulator, has a mechanism to verify the actual GGR. However, the declarations to the BIR are often undervalued,” he said. 

“Kung may utang at umalis na sila, paano pa natin mahahabol (If they still have a debt and they leave, how can we pursue it,” he pointed out.

There is also a discrepancy in the number of alien employment certificates (AEP) issued by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the number of work permits issued to POGO foreign workers by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Gatchalian observed. 

As of July 2024, PAGCOR said there are 26,431 foreign workers in the POGO industry. DOLE, however, reported only 15,819 AEPs in 2024, he pointed out.