SEN. Joel Villanueva has filed a bill proposing the permanent cancellation of licenses issued to all Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) facilities issued by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) and other investment promotion agencies.
Villanueva said Senate Bill No. 2752, or the proposed Anti-POGO Act, would ensure that “no traces of POGOs should remain” in the Philippines.
He filed the bill a week after President Marcos Jr. ordered a ban on all POGO operations in the country during his third State of the Nation Address last July 22.
The President gave Pagcor until the end of the year to shut down the industry.
Under SB 2752, POGOs will have 30 days from the effectivity of the proposed law to cease their operations. Failure or refusal of the firms to close operations shall subject responsible Filipino officers to imprisonment of 12 to 20 years, or a fine of P100 million, or both, while foreign offenders will be deported after service of sentence.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will have continuing authority to collect the POGOs’ unpaid taxes even after the repeal of the tax law.
The measure also provides for a Workers’ Transition Program for Filipino workers to be implemented by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), in coordination with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and other relevant agencies.
Villanueva said the POGO ban should lead to the repeal of Republic Act 11590, or the law taxing POGOs, which was signed into law in 2021.
The POGO tax law amended the National Internal Revenue Code to improve collection of taxes from offshore gaming companies. It imposed additional taxes on top of the franchise tax on POGO operations.
“The evidence of crimes and social ills from POGO operations immensely overwhelm the benefits the Filipinos get from the taxes they pay,” Villanueva said.
The Pagcor, BIR, DOLE and investment promotion agencies “shall submit a report to the President of the Republic of the Philippines and to Congress on the cancellation of operations of POGOs, the status of the winding down and cessation of operations of POGOs, and other relevant information not later than one (1) year after the effectivity of this Act.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Robin Padilla filed Senate Resolution No. 1091 urging the Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, which he chairs, to conduct an inquiry into the planned actions of the government on the 40,000 Filipinos workers who will be displaced by the shutdown of the POGO industry.
