PhilWeb insists it's not an online gambling firm

PhilWeb Corp., the listed gaming technology firm, wants regulator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) to clarify its current predicament.

The company, which President Rodrigo Duterte wants to close as part of his campaign against online gambling, is seeking an audience with PAGCOR Chairperson Andrea Domingo.

"PhilWeb is merely a software provider to PAGCOR for its network of e-Games outlets. We are not online gaming. Our software cannot be played from homes or offices," PhilWeb President Dennis Valdes said in an emailed statement Monday.

The company, which was given permission to operate only until Wednesday, August 10, now faces the risk of closing shop after the pronouncements of Duterte to end the proliferation of online gambling in the country.

"'Yung online gambling must stop," Duterte told his appointed officials during his administration's first Cabinet meeting.

Over the weekend, PhilWeb said its service could not be considered as online gambling as its software was not accessible via office or home computers.

"PAGCOR e-Games is not online gaming ... It is a private, members-only network of clubs where players need to be physically present in order to play. Access to these clubs is strictly controlled such that it is only open to members who are over 21 years old and are financially capable of gaming," Valdes said.

Valdes emphasized that closing down PhilWeb would mean billions of pesos in foregone revenue for the government. It contributed P2.1 billion to PAGCOR in 2015 and over P14 billion in the past 14 years.

"Thus, we are seeking the meeting with Chairperson Domingo so that we may fully explain our side. As a publicly listed company on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), our records are fully open for public scrutiny and are available for a full investigation at any time," he said.

“I sincerely hope that the situation can be clarified. Over 5,000 employees work in the e-Games outlets and it would be heartbreaking to see these people’s livelihoods affected. There are also over 1,500 stockholders in PhilWeb and many of these mom-and-pop investors cannot afford to have their savings wiped out overnight,” Valdes added.

Businessman Roberto V. Ongpin resigned last week as chairman and director of the PhilWeb to "save the company" after he was tagged by Duterte as among the oligarchs embedded in the government that needed to be weeded out.

"Ang plano ko talaga is ... destroy the oligarchs that are embedded in government," Duterte said.

His daughter, Anna Bettina Ongpin also stepped down from her position as vice chairman and director of the company "to devote more time and attention to other business matters."

PhilWeb shares plunged by 35.74 percent at the noon recess Monday. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VDS, GMA News