A lawmaker on Friday called on Congress to immediately work for the banning of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) in the country, amid the recent spate of kidnappings, abductions and other illegal activities involving Chinese nationals working in the online gaming industry.
House Committee on Appropriations Vice Chairman and Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin said kidnapping incidents have immensely affected the image of the Philippines and might be driving away investors.
The lawmaker’s statement came after Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Thursday, said the country faces “reputational risks” if it continues to allow POGOs to operate.
He added that POGOs’ impact on the country’s revenues would not be significant enough since revenues have reached only P3.9 billion in 2021, a little over half the P7.2 billion it generated at its peak.
“If you ask my personal opinion on this, let’s discontinue with the POGOs because of the social cost of the POGOs,” Diokno said in the Senate hearing hearing when Senator Imee R. Marcos asked the economic team what it plans to recommend regarding the expansion or continuation of POGOs in the country.
Garin added: “Now that we are opening up our economy and kidnapping and human trafficking headlining our daily news, it is driving away investors considering that it’s creating a misinformation that the Philippines is not safe,” Garin pointed out.
The lawmaker’s statement was issued following the recent operation of the Philippine National Police Anti-Kidnapping Group where it rescued 42 Chinese in Angeles City, Pampanga under the suspicion that they were human trafficking victims.
While POGO operations in the country have been regarded as one of the revenue sources by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor), Garin said the crimes involving POGO outweigh the benefits for the country.
“It has become a door to several crimes. The Philippine Offshore Gaming Operation hubs have become havens for undesirable aliens, drug and human trafficking, prostitution and other crime syndicates for money laundering and illicit operations,” Garin said.
“China and Cambodia have banned gambling because of the ill-effects it had brought, and the Philippines should learn from their experience, we should not disregard the negative and deleterious effects that have risen with the continued operation of POGO in our country,” Garin added.
Earlier, Pagcor told lawmakers that there are now only 26 POGOs in the country.
Pagcor reported that from P73.72 million in 2016, government income from its regulatory fees alone collected from POGOs went up to P3.12 billion in 2017, P6.11 billion in 2018, and P5.73 billion in 2019. In the first quarter of 2020, POGOs already paid P1.80 billion in regulatory fees alone.
Collections from POGO applications, processing and regulatory fees totaled P20.83 billion from 2016 to March 2020, the gaming regulator said.
Suspected kidnappers arrested in Clark
In a related development, a directive from National Police chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. to wage a crackdown against foreigners involved in POGO-related kidnappings and other criminal activities, resulted in the arrest of a Chinese national and a Filipino woman while allegedly conducting casing and surveillance of possible kidnap victims inside Clark Freeport Zone in Mabalacat City, Pampanga at dawn Thursday morning.
Xiong Gang, 35, and his Filipina companion Nette Joy Gallenero Juanico, 28, yielded a 9mm Daewoo pistol with silencer with a fully loaded magazine, a black airsoft pistol and a pair of handcuffs when arrested by operatives of the Criminal Investigation Detection Group (CIDG) Field Unit of the Angeles City and Mabalacat City Police Station.
In a report to Azurin Jr. PNP CIDG Acting Director Police Brig. Gen. Ronald Lee said Gang and Juanico were onboard a metallic blue Toyota sedan with plate number DCA 8843 when intercepted by Clark Development Corporation (CDC) Police led by Field Commander Arvin Bernardo, while acting suspiciously in front of Clark Hills Village at 1:30 a.m. on Thursday.
When requested to lower the car windows, security personnel saw in plain view a pistol grip beside the driver’s seat. CDC Police held the vehicle and called the CIDG Field Unit Angeles and Mabalacat City Police Station.
A further search resulted to the discovery of the confiscated items and subsequent arrest of the suspects.