‘Name ex-Cabinet official who lobbied for illegal POGOs’

MANILA, Philippines — Senators challenged the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) to name the former Cabinet official who allegedly facilitated the grant of gaming licenses to Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) so as not to cast doubt on all other former members of the Cabinet.

Senate President Francis Escudero said if PAGCOR fails to name this former Cabinet official, then his colleagues Senators Risa Hontiveros and Sherwin Gatchalian should unmask him.

“PAGCOR should name the official. If not, then the committee chaired and headed by Sens. Hontiveros and Gatchalian should unmask this official (so that not all former high-ranking cabinet officials will be looked upon with suspicion) and find out if he or she violated any law,” Escudero said.

PAGCOR chief executive officer Alejandro Tengco said that those investigating the suspicious activities of former POGO licensees must also look into the role of former officials and their conduits in the grant of licenses to POGO applicants with dubious backgrounds.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III issued a similar call.

“To be fair to all former Cabinet members, PAGCOR should reveal the identity of this person, so he or she can defend self,” Pimentel said.

Similarly, Sen. Joel Villanueva urged PAGCOR to drop the name, reminding the gaming body that “the government is not showbiz that thrives with blind items.”

“Name the official. We are not in showbiz, so there is no need for it to become a blind item. People need to know the truth and hold accountable those responsible,” Villanueva said, adding that Tengco’s revelation would only bolster the call to permanently ban POGO operations in the country.

“They (POGO) have infiltrated not only the business and gaming industries but also our government, allegedly with local and even high-ranking officials serving as their protectors,” Villanueva added.

Meanwhile, Tengco said PAGCOR continues to cleanse the ranks of internet gaming licensees (IGL) – the new nomenclature and acronym for POGO – to weed out irregularities and criminal activities in the sector.

Tengco said that from the original 46 firms granted licenses last year, only 42 remain after the cancellation last week of another license and the suspension of three others.

Aside from the IGLs, Tengco said PAGCOR issued 20 permits to service providers and 14 for Special Class of BPO (business process outsourcing) companies. 

“Despite the lower number of IGLs and service providers today, we are proud to say that we collect more fees from them compared with the previous administration,” Tengco said in a statement.

Each IGL pays a guarantee fee of $100,000 monthly or two percent of their gross gaming revenues, whichever is higher. They also pay between $25,000 and $100,000 monthly in administrative fees, depending on the size of their operations.

The service providers are charged $85,000 monthly while Special Class BPOs pay $10,000 monthly.

“During the previous administration, no administrative fees were collected from POGOs, while service providers were only charged application fees of varying amounts. Special Class BPOs were not paying anything at all,” Tengco said.

The PAGCOR chief said there were 63 POGO licensees during the previous administration aside from 231 service providers and four Special Class BPOs. 

He said most of the anomalies before were traced to the service providers.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) is not discounting the possibility that someone might have leaked information about the raid they conducted at the Fontana Leisure Park POGO hub in Mabalacat, Pampanga. 

In an interview over dzBB yesterday, PAOCC Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz said the possibility of an insider in the Philippine National Police or in PAOCC “is included in our investigations because this is not the first time there is a leak of information.” — Rainier Allan Ronda, Evelyn Macairan