Operations of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators will only be allowed if the operators have no tax liabilities and gain approval from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said Friday.
Roque said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases allowed POGOs to resume partial operations under a General Community Quarantine and said their remittances would be used to fund the government’s response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
READ: Government sticks to POGO, cites benefits
POGO operations, like most other businesses, have been suspended since March 15 under the Luzon-wide Enhanced Community Quarantine. But the Palace has eased restrictions on several non-essential businesses in areas where the ECQ has been downgraded to a GCQ.
Under the government’s new guidelines, business process outsourcing (BPO) operations, which now include POGOs, can operate in areas under ECQ and GCQ so long as they provide temporary accommodation and shuttle services for on-site workers.
Roque said POGOs, like BPOs, cater to a foreign audience since gambling is done outside the country.
But Roque said the POGOs must have no unsettled tax liabilities and must get approval from Pagcor.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue earlier revealed that over P27 billion worth of tax liabilities remain uncollected from the POGO sector.
Pagcor chairman Andrea Domingo said in a television interview that only 30 percent of the total workforce will be allowed to report for work.
Domingo said she attended a virtual meeting with members of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Thursday. In the same meeting, the IATF approved her recommendation to reopen online gambling services—insisting they are part of the BPO sector, not the gaming sector.
Domingo said POGOs will be allowed to resume operations under “strict protocols.”
She also said the employees should also undergo testing for COVID-19.
Several senators, however, criticized the resumption of POGO operations, citing health concerns and the non-payment of billions of pesos in taxes.
READ: Fate of POGOs post-quarantine now under study
Senate Labor committee chairman Senator Joel Villanueva reminded Domingo that there were only two to three POGOs that have paid their franchise taxes.
He recalled Pagcor admitted there were 120 illegal POGOs operating in the country.
He also doubted Domingo’s assurance that only 30 percent of POGOs’ workforce will be allowed to operate only after payment of their back taxes.
“How will they strictly enforce that when they cannot even stop the ones operating illegally under quarantine? There are 120 POGOs illegally operating according to Pagcor itself,” Villanueva said.
He also dared Domingo to face his Senate inquiry into POGOs to explain the conflicting data on the number of Filipinos employed in the industry, urging her not to hide from such hearings.
Domingo has never attended Senate hearings on POGO operations.
In February, Villanueva said Pagcor data showed only one in two available jobs in the POGO industry goes to Filipinos.
But Domingo said Filipinos comprise a quarter of the POGO workforce.
Senator Risa Hontiveros said she was dismayed that the government brought back these POGO workers to their jobs rather than Filipinos who lost their work due to the lockdown.
READ: POGOs too ‘high-risk’ to reopen—solon
“Pagcor should explain why it moved to recommend the opening of POGO while there are vehement opinions and serious concerns against it. Why the haste when we are under an Enhanced Community Quarantine?” she asked.
The resumption of POGO operations, the senator said, would mean mobility for at least 120,000 POGO workers, most of them in National Capital Region, the epicenter of the COVID-19 transmission.
She warned that the resumption of POGO operations was a risk to public health and safety.
Senator Leila de Lima also blasted POGOs for evading billions of pesos in taxes since Day One. “So, how on earth can it ‘boost state funds’ for COVID-19 response?” she asked.
She said the continuous operations of POGOs do not serve Filipino interest. Instead, she said they serve the interests of Chinese criminals.
“The fact that they are outlawed in their own country should have made it clear to us that they have no intention of following the law. They are here to line their pockets, nothing more,” she said.
Even House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, a staunch ally of the administration, said the enforcement of quarantine measures in POGO hubs could be a problem.
“I do not believe all POGOs are the same, but I agree with you enforcement is a problem,” Cayetano said.
Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez ordered his men to monitor the movement and activities of foreigners employed by POGOs following reports that a number of Chinese nationals were disrespecting COVID-19 protocols.
Olivarez also tapped Melanie Malaya, chief of the Business Permit and Licensing Office, to regularly inspect several Chinese-owned business establishments in two barangays reportedly operating despite the imposition of the Enhanced Community Quarantine.
Last week, authorities raided an illegal POGO operation in Barangay Tambo after receiving a call from a concerned citizen about a group of armed Chinese nationals outside their residence during the curfew hours.
The raid resulted in the arrest of 44 Chinese nationals and nine Filipinos.
Meanwhile, a group of online gaming service providers assured the government they would comply with strict quarantine protocols.
The Accredited Service Providers Association of Pagcor said its members will follow the strict conditions imposed by Pagcor and IATF. These include deep cleaning and disinfection of facilities, testing of Filipino and foreign workers for COVID-19 prior to deployment, payment of workers’ salaries and taxes to BIR, remittance of the P350-million minimum guaranteed fee to Pagcor, proper social distancing and other measures.
In a statement, ASPAP also said its members welcomed their classification as BPO companies. With Julito G. Rada