Kawit proposes own POGO City

MANILA, Philippines — The local government of Kawit, Cavite is proposing to put up  a 70-hectare offshore gaming hub to take advantage of the booming industry worldwide.

Kawit Mayor Angelo Emilio Aguinaldo has formally written the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) signifying its intent to set up a POGO (Philippine offshore gaming operator) City with private sector partners.

Aguinaldo said that the LGU-operated POGO City could complement the POGO Hub to be established by controversial businessman Kim Wong and his son Kevin in the former Island Cove resort that the father-and-son tandem bought from the Remulla family.

“The municipality of Kawit is now host to a POGO Hub located in the Island Cove and Animal Island in Barangay Pulvorista,” Aguinaldo said.

“But in order to fully maximize our advantage and participate fully in this enterprise, the municipality wants to establish a POGO City - an LGU initiated project that can cater to interested holders of online gaming licenses to locate and utilize our proposed facilities,” Aguinaldo said.

Aguinaldo said that with Kawit’s location just off the coast of Manila Bay, less than 20 minutes away from the Pagcor Entertainment City, the municipality was “uniquely and strategically placed to address the needs of the  POGOs”.

“We are partnering with private entities that can help us establish the POGO City at no cost to the government equipped with state-of-the-art connectivity and security, a one-stop-shop for government processing centers like the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Bureau of Immigration, among others, fully furnished dormitories, entertainment centers, indoor and outdoor sports facilities, and food centers” he said.