China has warned of the negative impact on its bilateral relations with the Philippines the continued operations of Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGO) in the country.
This developed as three business groups expressed support to the phaseout of POGOs in the Philippines as suggested by the Department of Finance.
Chinese ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian noted the harm on economic and social development of POGOs which he said “are illegal and have been banned in China.”
“POGO is illegal for any Chinese citizens not only at home, but also overseas. We believe the POGO industry has brought a lot of harm on China and also on the Philippines and will have a negative impact on bilateral relations,” Huang told the Pandesal Forum yesterday .
He added: “We have been working closely with the Philippine government agencies concerned to crack down on illegal POGO and we hope the harms… negative impacts of POGOs will be fully realized by the people and by the authorities in this country.“
In a joint statement yesterday, the Foundation for Economic Freedom, Makati Business Club and the Management Association of the Philippines expressed full support for the complete phaseout of POGOs, noting the social and reputational costs of government sponsorship of operations that are globally frowned upon far outweigh any economic benefits.”
The groups said the Chinese government has been quite categorical in its objections to POGO, which they characterized as “harming not only China’s interest and China-Philippines relations but also hurt the interests of the Philippines.”
The groups said for the past years, regulatory oversight on POGOs has been a problem, resulting in monitoring and taxation issues with our licensing agency, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
“Conflicting mandates and the lure of corruption have rendered it and other involved government agencies incapable of effectively regulating POGOs. Crimes, like money laundering, kidnaping, bribery, prostitution, human and drug trafficking — all associated with the gambling industry — impact on our record of law and order, and our reputation,” they said.
The groups also noted the taint of money laundering diminishes confidence in the country’s banking system and puts legitimate financial flows, including from overseas Filipino workers, at risk from sanctions of international oversight bodies.
The decline in the operations of the POGO industry by 50 to 70 percent during the pandemic suggests that now is the best time to terminate their operations, the groups added.
The groups acknowledged that the total ban will result in temporary economic strains but that this pales in comparison to the enduring socio-economic consequences and heavier disruption if the government does not act now. – Irma Isip
