POGO firm left P2.2 billion unpaid fees – PAGCOR chief

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. lost some P2.2 billion in receivables from a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) company that had closed down, PAGCOR chair Alejandro Tengco reported during yesterday’s resumption of the budget hearing of the House committee on appropriations on the proposed P5.768-trillion national budget for 2024.

Responding to a question from House Minority Leader and 4Ps party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan, Tengco said the past administration failed to collect this amount.

“They just disappeared like bubbles. They closed down during the pandemic and ran away,” Tengco added.

The company operated for eight months.

PAGCOR tried to find local incorporators of the company, but there were none, according to Tengco.

Based on PAGCOR’s investigation, the POGO officials, who are all foreign nationals, had sneaked out of the country.

Tengco said there is no way for the agency to collect the money anymore so they had requested the Commission on Audit to “write off” the receivables.

He committed that under his leadership, PAGCOR would closely monitor all the 32 POGO licensees that are each allowed to have a maximum of 15 service providers.

For this, the agency has placed all overseas gaming licensees on “probationary status” effective Aug. 1.

“We cannot cancel their license because they will be operating illegally, but by putting them on probationary status, we’ve asked them, the existing licensees, to re-apply … up to Sept. 15 only. If they do not re-apply, we will cancel their existing licenses,” Tengco said.

Meanwhile, the PAGCOR chief reported that he met with Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte, who agreed to receive PAGCOR sponsorship for the construction of school buildings.

Tengco added that PAGCOR and the Department of Education (DepEd) would sign a memorandum of agreement on the matter.

Duterte’s predecessor Leonor Briones refused to receive donations from PAGCOR during her term as DepEd chief, saying the money would come from gambling.