Duterte: POGOs are clean

MANILA, Philippines — Despite the illegal activities linked to Chinese gambling operations in the country, President Duterte believes that Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) are “clean” and are contributing billions of pesos to various government projects. ?

Duterte claimed POGOs, which cater to Chinese nationals, give P2 billion to government coffers per month, an amount that he said can be used to support health care. ?

“I will assure you under my oath of office as President of this Republic, as elected by you, POGOs... are clean. It’s a game for the other side,” the President said during the meeting of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines last Tuesday in Pasay City.?“It gives us P2 billion a month. P2 billion... I need lots of money. That is only the POGO. But Pagcor is like P17 billion a year. Where do we get that?” he added, referring to state gaming regulator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. ?Duterte also claimed that POGOs employ 20,000 workers in Manila. The figure, however, is way lower than the 143,000 foreigners given alien employment permits by the labor department last year. ?Duterte also reiterated that no official benefits from the POGOs, who he said directly communicates with Pagcor.?The proliferation of POGOs has been blamed for various unlawful activities including human trafficking, prostitution, tax evasion and kidnapping.?Last month, Duterte relieved 19 immigration personnel due to the “pastillas” bribery scheme, which resulted in the entry of illegal Chinese POGO workers. ?Last week, Anti-Money Laundering Council executive director Mel Georgie Racela told a Senate hearing that P14 billion worth of transactions by POGOs from 2017 to 2019 were tied to “suspicious activities.” He said these activities include violations of the E-commerce act, fraud and illegal drugs.?Duterte has expressed doubt that POGOs are being used as fronts for money laundering.?“With regard to the speculation of senators that they (POGOs) are being used for (money) laundering, well... we have a listing of their deposits. There is a report of money laundering. But in the banks themselves, there is none,” Duterte said at a press conference last Monday. ?“You are engaged in the business. You deposit money, you withdraw money. It’s running. There are winners. There are losers. So they need to pay. And that’s it. If they want the payment to emanate from the Philippines, there’s nothing that we can do. But if you say... the money laundering was not seen by regulators...we were given a copy. It’s not true,” he added. 

The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) has branded Duterte’s anti-corruption campaign as fake after the Chief Executive refused to shut down POGOs.

“The Duterte drive against crime and corruption is fake. To allow POGO is to allow money-laundering and the proliferation of crime. Duterte allows systematic corruption and protects the Chinese criminal syndicates,” Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes said in a statement.

Bayan issued the statement after Duterte on Monday night defended the operations of POGOs and maintained that he will not order their shutdown as the government earns revenues from them, which can be used to “help the nation.”

Duterte, instead, proposed to lawmakers to pass a law that would regulate these gambling firms.

“It is naive or even treacherous to think that POGO is clean and helps government in terms of revenues. Anything that is rooted in illegal activities and gives rise to more criminality cannot be ‘good’ nor ‘clean,’” Reyes said.

Reyes said some P14 billion in POGO transactions were believed to be tied to illegal or suspicious activities.

“POGO is largely based on illegal activities in China and is widely believed to be used for money-laundering. Even our own Anti-Money Laundering Council knows this,” Reyes said. – With Elizabeth Marcelo, Christina Mendez