Senator Sherwin Gatchalian emphasized the need for a holistic approach to effectively carry out President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to ban all Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in the country by the end of the year.
Gatchalian pointed out that attention should not only be focused on the licensed POGOs regulated by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), as many illegal POGOs still operate.
According to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), over 200 unlicensed POGOs are still active.
The senator warned that even if licensed POGOs are shut down, operations will continue if the illegal ones are not targeted, rendering the closure ineffective in stopping scams tied to POGOs.
Furthermore, Gatchalian urged the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to coordinate with PAGCOR to assess the gross gaming revenue (GGR) of each Internet Gaming Licensee (IGL), the new term replacing POGOs.
He noted that previous hearings revealed a P2 billion to P5 billion discrepancy between the GGR declared by POGOs to PAGCOR and the GGR reported to the BIR for tax purposes.
Gatchalian also raised concerns about the inconsistency in alien employment certificates (AEPs) issued by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and work permits granted by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for foreign nationals employed by POGOs.
In July 2024, PAGCOR reported 26,431 foreign nationals working in POGOs, while DOLE issued only 15,819 AEPs.