SENATE minority leader Aquilino Pimentel III yesterday said government should encourage allied countries such as the United States, Japan and France to invest more in the Philippines to offset expected foregone revenues when Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) companies are shut down.
In an interview with radio dzBB, Pimentel said the government should not be worried about banning POGOs since foreign direct investments can easily augment the P20 billion to P23 billion revenues it has been getting from the industry.
Pimentel even doubted that the POGO industry contributes that much revenues to the government.
“Yung P20 billion hindi ako naniniwala diyan. Bigyan nila kami ng magandang study diyan kung paano. I’m sure kinompute nila diyan yung sasabihin nilang indirect kita like nag-renta, bumili ng pagkain. Wala yan. Hindi dapat dinadagdag ang mga yan doon. Doon tayo dapat sa direct
(I don’t believe that the revenues can reach P20 billion. The government must present us a study to back its claims. I’m sure, they will add to the computation the indirect earnings, including those from rent of establishments, purchase of foods. That’s nothing. They should not add them to the actual revenues from the POGOs. They should base the revenues from the direct [earnings from the POGOs]),” Pimentel said, who is among those who have been pushing for a total ban on POGOs.
He placed revenues from the industry at a conservative P3 billion a year, which he said is not even enough to fund expenses incurred by law enforcement agencies in running after illegal POGOs, and for the sustenance of arrested foreign workers while waiting deportation to their countries of origin.
“Ang kinikita sa POGO ay inuubos natin sa law enforcement, laban sa krimen, imbes na ipagpatayo ng classrooms, ng mga kalsada, sa fiber optics…Kaya binigyan tayo ng let’s say P100, pero P200 pala ang nagagastos para tugisin natin sila. Eh di abonado pa tayo (Our earnings from POGOs are just spent on law enforcement, in the fight against [POGO-related] crimes instead of using them to build more classrooms, construct more roads, and invest in fiber optics…They are giving us, let’s say, P100, but we actually need P200 to operate against them. So, the government is spending more than it earns from POGOs),” he said.
He said the government can earn more than P20 billion once foreign direct investments come in.
“Kung P20 billion, kayang kayang punuin ng gobyerno yan sa dami ng supposed investments ng mga Amerikano dito. Akala ko ba kakampi natin ang mga Amerikano, and mga French? Eh di mag-invest sila dito at bawing-bawi na ang P20 billion (That P20 billion can be offset by the government through investments of the Americans here. If the Americans and the French are truly our allies, then let them invest in the country so the government can recover the would-be losses from the POGO industry),” he added.
Pimentel also took exception on the pronouncement of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation chairman Alejandro Tengco that hundreds of thousands of workers stand to lose their jobs once POGOs are banned.
Pimentel reminded Tengco that foreigners are mostly employed in POGO hubs, with Filipinos comprising only more than 20,000.
He said allowing foreigners to work in the country is already a violation of the government’s labor policies since aliens should only be allowed to work in the Philippines if Filipinos cannot do such jobs.
Pimentel said that while it’s true that there are Filipinos employed in POGO facilities as security guards, janitors, or card dealers, they can be re-employed once the country’s allies invest more in the Philippines.
“Kaya na ng DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment) yan, bigyan ng TUPAD, upskilling, re-skilling, at saka yung mga services ng mga Pilipino diyan eh mukhang kailangan din sila kunwari dumating na ang mga Americans, and French investors, it’s the same. They will need security guards, they will need office clerk. Yung 100,000 na inaalala ng Pagcor chairman ay mga foreign workers yun, hindi na natin problema yan (The DOLE can take care of them. Give them TUPAD [Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers], upskilling, re-skilling. And the services of the Filipinos in the POGO industry will still be needed once more investments from the Americans and the French come in because they will need security guards, and office clerks. That 100,000 workers who will lose their jobs once POGOs are closed are all foreigners, and they are not our problem anymore),” he said.
Pimentel said allowing legal POGOs to remain operational also poses a number of problems since the people have no ability to determine the legal from the illegals when they see POGO operations in their localities.
A total ban on POGOs is the key so that citizens can immediately report to proper authorities if they see POGO-like activities in the communities, he stressed.
Pimentel said President Marcos’ silence on his decision on POGOs is deafening, but hopes that the Chief Executive will make an announcement when he delivers his third State-of-the-Nation Address on July 22.
“Baka gulatin nya tayo. Sisipa ang popularity or approval ng Presidente kapag in-announce niya sa SONA na he is banning POGOs completely, all POGO activities sa Pilipinas na napaka-gandang political move nun…Kung ako man ang Presidente itago ko muna at i-a-announce ko sa SONA para isa yan sa highlight ng SONA niya. Lahat kasi ng atensiyon ay nandoon at magugulat at matutuwa tayong lahat. May plus yan sa approval rating niya
(He might surprise us. His popularity or approval [rating] will shoot up if the President will announce on SONA day that he is banning POGOs completely, all POGO activities in the Philippines. That is a very wise political move…If I am the President, I while hold it and make an announcement during his SONA so it can be one of the highlights of his SONA because all eyes and ears are on him, and we might be surprised by it. It will have plus points on his approval rating),” he added.
