POGOs 'very essential' to the government — Bato
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, who chairs the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, defended the decision to allow Philippine Overseas Gaming Operators to resume operations, saying the government considers them essential businesses even if the public may disagree.
Speaking to radio DWIZ on Saturday evening, Dela Rosa said that this is because money from the POGOs could be used to fund the country’s fight against the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Dela Rosa's view differs from that of Senate leaders Vicente Sotto III and Franklin Drilon, who have raised doubts about allowing the online gambling services that cater mostly to Chinese bettors operate.
Despite now wielding sweeping special powers granted by Congress, President Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly said that he does not know where to get cold cash for relief efforts.
“They’re saying they can make a big contribution to the government’s war chest in the fight against COVID; if they can operate, that will be a big help to the government,” Dela Rosa said in Filipino.
RELATED: BPO firms reject POGOs as part of industry
Government subsidies for those most affected by the new pathogen has been slow to reach beneficiaries in the month that the president has held his new powers—while much of the allocated funds have been given to local government units, they still have, for the most part, not been downloaded to their target recipients.
“That’s give or take. You can say it isn’t essential, and maybe it’s true that it isn’t essential, but on the other hand, on the part of the administration, it’s very essential because we need money to spend on the COVID-19 response,” the senator said.
Sotto: It's the administration's call
Senate President Sotto said it allowing the POGOs to resume operations is the administration's call.
"I don't know the reason why they allowed it," he said in Filipino in a separate DWIZ interview. "I only heard the explanation of [Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corp.] Chairwoman Andrea Domingo that they will keep to themselves and they cannot leave the area, something to that effect."
"But what is essential about that? Does the government make money from it? Is the government earning or not? It's complicated... for me, if they cannot tell me what the reasons are, for me it's not an essential business."
He stressed, however, that senators' opinions are just opinions since Congress has yet to pass bills on regulating the POGOs.
Minority Leader Drilon, meanwhile, rejected the proposition that the POGOs are Business Process Outsourcing companies, which are allowed to operate during the quarantine period subject to restrictions.
RELATED: BPO firms reject POGOs as part of industry
On Friday after POGOs were allowed to resume operations, PEZA Director-General Charito Plaza told Philstar.com by phone that as policy, “we don’t accept offshore gambling” applications to PEZA ecozones, which grant tax perks to priority industries, including BPOs.
“Some BPOs may have involvement in POGOs but there are mostly administrative, like accounting or process of payments because that’s the nature of their job as non-voice firms,” Plaza said.
“But firms with direct involvement in betting, no we do not accept,” she added.
Prior to 2016, POGOs were only allowed to operate in two economic zones namely the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority and the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority.
That was the case before President Rodrigo Duterte liberalized their operations beyond those ecozones to allow them nationwide.
"It seems we are favoring the POGO operators and we are willing to risk everything just so we we can have POGOs to operate. How much income do POGO operators make in the Philippines? Nobody knows. The P8 billion that they say goverment has collected, is that worth everything that is happening which affects our social fiber as a community? What about the crimes committed, identified with POGO operations?" Drilon said in a separate DWIZ interview.
RELATED: Rise in sex trafficking coincides with POGO boom — NGO
Drilon added the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act has given the administration authority to realign an estimated P1.5 trillion in the 2020 national budget.
"We can ask the Department of Budget and Management how much the money is and how much has been disbursed. Because there was savings in the 2019 budget and the president has the authority to align the budget. It is unclear to me why they are saying we need these POGOs to generate funds for COVID-19 emergency operations."
Dela Rosa, who was the architect of President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs during his time with the national police, has always backed the administration's policy decisions.
Duterte, meanwhile, has been hesitant to shut the POGOs down despite China, which the Palace has described as the Philippines' "BFF" or "Best Friend Forever", asking that they be closed down because gambling is illegal in China.
RELATED: 342 Chinese POGO workers held for fraud
This comes despite the myriad of controversies surrounding the gaming operators, including links to sex trafficking, immigration bribery, identity theft, money laundering, kidnapping, and even prostitution.
“Maybe they should look at it in the sense that it doesn’t add to the virus in our community. Officials should closely monitor these businesses, they can’t leave them alone,” the top cop turned legislator added.
“In a way, if they transmit the virus and infect each other, then all of them, together, should stay inside and not go out. They’re quarantined anyway. They shouldn’t go out.” — Franco Luna
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