Members of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means affixed their signatures to a committee report recommending, among others, to kick out Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) from the country.
Among those who signed the report are Senators Sherwin Gatchalian, Ronald Dela Rosa, Risa Hontiveros, Pia Cayetano, Grace Poe, Raffy Tulfo, JV Ejercito, Loren Legarda, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel, Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, and Majority Leader Joel Villanueva.
Those who did not sign the committee report include Senators Cynthia and Mark Villar, Christopher Go, Francis Tolentino, Sonny Angata, Jinggoy Estrada, Francis Escudero, and Lito Lapid.
Specifically, the committee report calls for the adoption of a resolution urging the executive department to cease the operations of POGOs within three months from the approval of the committee report.
Gatchalian said he is eyeing to present the plenary committee report by next week.
He said he expects that the timeframe or time allocated to stop POGO operations from the country will be a subject of debate.
Gatchalian admitted that many will be rendered jobless once POGOs are shut down abruptly.
Aside from jobs, Gatchalian also said lawmakers need to consider the tax and local government rules and regulations; the lease contract on commercial and residential buildings; the cancellation of the working visa and the deportation of foreigners working in the industry.
Ejercito meanwhile clarified that he signed the POGO committee report but said he would seek an amendment.
Ejercito noted he is for a two to three-year phaseout, so as not to put the perception that the lawmakers made POGOs legal only to abruptly withdraw support after a few years.
The perception, he further stressed, would be inconsistency in policies in the international community he said the legal POGOs be given a phaseout period, but the illegal POGOs which are the cause of crimes should be banned immediately.
“There has to be preparation for those who will be displaced to have alternative employment and Businesses related to POGO to find alternative market or businesses like real estate and others as well,” he said.
“Cancelling it abruptly might have consequences on different industries related to it,” he added.
For his part, Go has maintained the need to thoroughly study the impact of expelling POGOs.
While he recognizes the importance of peace and order, he also raised concern for the thousands of Filipinos who will lose their jobs.
Although the Labor department was directed to find alternative jobs for POGO workers, he admitted that the process is not easy especially now that people are facing high cost of goods and services.
Over the past several months, Gatchalian has advocated for the closure of POGOs in the country, asserting that any revenue derived from the industry is not worth the social costs.
Hontiveros meanwhile said she hopes that the committee report hurdle Congress. She said she has always believed that a total ban on POGO is “just and right.”
Gatchalian said this aims to safeguard the well-being of the Filipino people and maintain a trajectory of growth and development.
The report also called on the labor department to look for alternative employment placements for Filipino nationals employed by POGOs taking
into account their skills and capabilities with the possibility of being absorbed by other industries such as Information Technology Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPOs) and manufacturing through proper coordination.
The report urges the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to cancel and revoke the working visas issued to foreign nationals employed in the POGO
industry and implement their deportation.
Furthermore, the report also proposes to Congress to pass legislation that would separate the functions of regulation from operation in PAGCOR’s Charter.
Meanwhile, Gatchalian said he has long advocated to decouple PAGCOR’s regulatory functions from its commercial operations.
He said its decision to transition to becoming a purely regulatory body is commendable, representing a significant stride towards improving the governance of the gaming industry.
This move effectively eliminates any conflict of interest arising from its current dual role as a regulator and an operator.
Senator Grace Poe said wearing two hats at a time — as a regulator and an operator —might compromise Pagcor’s capability to effectively regulate the gaming
industry.
“We have seen how the illegal POGOs and other unauthorized gambling operations have brought social ills to the country,” said Poe.
While the illegal operations rake in money for some firms and individuals, the government is haplessly deprived of earnings.
If Pagcor can effectively regulate the gaming industry and weed out unscrupulous activities, then it could even generate better revenues to help fund more government projects./