Internet Gaming Licenses included in POGO ban

MANILA, Philippines — The ban on Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) – which drew cheers when announced on Monday by President Marcos in his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) – covers the so-called internet gaming licensees (IGLs), Malacañang clarified yesterday.

Marcos capped his third SONA by ordering a halt to the operation of POGOs by the end of the year, citing the need to end their “grave abuse and disrespect to our system of laws.”

According to the President, the gaming entities have ventured into “illicit areas furthest from gaming” such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, even murder.

“Internet gaming licenses are included in the ban,” Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cheloy Garafil told The STAR in a text message yesterday.

After Marcos’ SONA, House ways and means committee chairman and Albay 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda expressed hope that the administration would find a way to ban POGOs without affecting IGLs.

In an interview with Radyo DZBB yesterday, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco decried the potential loss of billions of peso in revenue from POGOs but said he would comply with the President’s directive.

He said PAGCOR projects to earn this year around P7 billion from its IGLs, the new term for POGOs.

He also cited taxes collected from POGOs by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) as well as fees collected by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for work permits and by the Bureau of Immigration for alien registration certificates. He said those fees can reach up to P22 billion to P23 billion.

In a previous statement, Tengco said a ban would make it harder to monitor IGLs and would increase the number of illegal operators, a scenario that he said would “pose a bigger headache” to law enforcers.

The government would also lose potential revenues of more than P20 billion per year without any guarantee that illegal activities would stop, Tengco added.

NEDA: Benefits of ban outweigh costs

Benefits can outweigh the costs of banning POGO, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

“The POGO contributed less than one half of one percent of our GDP (gross domestic product) as of 2022. And that’s what you are likely going to lose or benefit,” NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan told reporters on the sidelines of the post-SONA discussions yesterday.

He said there were losses to tourism with the presence of POGOs, as China has made it clear that cross-border tourism is to be regulated for countries with POGOs that cater to Chinese individuals.

He said there were also social costs and reputational costs for hosting POGOs in the country.

“Those (costs) are very high. And I think that I would like to see, the President would like to see legitimate businesses, businesses that give good reputation to our country as an investment destination, as a tourist destination, not ones that encourage criminalities and related negatives,” he said.

Balisacan said workers in the POGO industry to be affected by the ban may be absorbed by the information technology-business process management sector, as these individuals already have some IT skills.

Philippine Economic Zone Authority chief Tereso Panga said that while the agency does not have any POGO locators in the ecozones, it can assist in the process of providing training and employment to displaced workers.

“If we need to upskill and reskill them, that’s the job of our agencies, particularly DOLE, CHED (Commission on Higher Education) and other agencies to provide this training as they transition to these new jobs,” Balisacan said. – Mayen Jaymalin, Rainier Allan Ronda, Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Louise Maureen Simeon, Evelyn Macairan, Delon Porcalla