PHILIPPINE Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) should be allowed to temporarily resume operations while the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) is in place so government can have additional financial resources, through taxes, to fund measures to curb COVID-19, Sen. Richard Gordon said on Sunday.
Guidelines approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) ban the operation of POGOs while the ECQ is in effect. President Duterte has approved a modified community quarantine in some areas in the country while retaining the ECQ in Metro Manila, the Calabarzon region, Central Luzon region until May 15.
Gordon, in an interview over radio dzBB, said POGO workers, who are mostly Chinese, should behave and comply with the country’s laws.
“I will not object to any proposal [to allow the temporary POGO operations] but we should have a record of those who will enter the country, especially the Chinese, and they should behave. They should be deported once they get involved in trouble,” Gordon said.
Gordon clarified that what he approves of is only the resumption of the temporary operations of POGOs. He stressed that government must make sure that it gets its due share from POGO earnings. “I really do not like POGOs, but the President is looking for additional funds. We can at least generate funds from their taxes,” Gordon said.
Gordon said movements and activities of foreign POGO workers must be strictly monitored and they must immediately inform local governments where they are staying should they transfer from one house to another.
He said POGO workers must also observe physical distancing even in their rented residential units to prevent the transmission of the infectious novel coronavirus.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan rejected calls for the resumption of POGO operations as proposed by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, saying he does not believe that this can be a source of additional funds.
“Boost state funds? I don’t think so. It was is the DOF itself which already said that POGOs owe the government billions of pesos in unpaid taxes,” Pangilinan said.
Sen. Joel Villanueva has said that POGOS owe the government some P50 billion in taxes, while Sen. Risa Hontiveros said POGO operations have led to the rise in criminal activities, including forced labor and prostitution. Gordon has said that mules, mostly Chinese, bring in huge amounts of foreign currency to the country, which are used by POGOs in their operations.
ILLEGAL POGO OPS
Police last Saturday arrested 44 Chinese and nine Filipinos in a house in Parañaque City that was used as an illegal POGO office after police received a report on the presence of armed men loitering in Barangay Tambo in violation of the ECQ protocols.
When approached by the police, the armed men ran to a nearby house which led to the discovery of the illegal POGO operation. The police raiding team recovered five firearms, 36 laptops, 17 desktops, 400 cellular phones, five modems, 73 Chinese passports, and P1.3 million in cash from the house.
Immigration spokeswoman Dana Krizia Sandoval said the agency is verifying the identities of the 44 Chinese with the PNP.
“We are also interested to find out if they have other cohorts or if similar establishments are operating in the area. We will be coordinating with the PNP intelligence for more information in this,” she said.
Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete said the BI can initiate deportation proceedings against them but if criminal cases were filed, then they would have to answer it first before they can be deported.
He said found guilty and sentenced, they need to serve their sentences first before they are returned to their country.
Under ECQ guidelines, POGOs are not allowed to operate.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said POGO operations remain suspended until April 30 even if some of their establishment and headquarters are located in areas under the general community quarantine (GCQ).
Roque said under the general community quarantine, establishments from the amusement and gaming industry like POGOs are not considered essential and therefore cannot operate yet.
Among establishments that are not allowed to resume operations even after the ECQ has been reduced to GHQ in some areas are POGOs, churches and different religious congregations, schools, industries that cater to children, and tourism.
Under the GCQ, large gatherings like religious events and conferences are also still prohibited. — with Ashzel Hachero and Jocelyn Montemayor
