POGOs open under GCQ? No decision yet, says Palace

The reopening of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) under a general community qurantine is not off the table, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Wednesday.

“Wala pa tayong desisyon diyan, kasi doon sa rules, iyong amusement at leisure (sectors), hindi pa puwede magbukas,” Roque said in an Unang Hirit interview.

“Pero iyong BPOs (Business Process Outsourcing), puwede na magbukas. Itong POGOs kasi parang BPO rin, kasi hindi naman nagsusugal ang mga Pilipino. Ang nagsusugal ay iyong nasa labas ng bansa,” Roque added.

Roque also maintained that POGOs, if opened, could be good for generating revenues as the country faces a massive financial problem due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Bubuksan lang po ito dahil po sa revenues na maaaring maibigay [ng industriya] para malabanan natin ang COVID-19,” Roque added.

Vice President Leni Robredo earlier criticized the government for considering resuming POGO businesses amid the pandemic, considering that the inflow from POGO is only at P7 billion based on Anti-Money Laundering Council records or only 0.04% of the domestic economy.

Likewise, the Bureau of Internal Revenue data have also shown that only 10 out of the 60 POGO businesses pay taxes.

“Bakit natin sila bibigyan ng privilege na magbukas, at ang rason pa ay para makapagbigay ng pera na gagastusin para sa ekonomiya eh hindi naman ganun kalaki ang contribution nila sa domestic economy,” Robredo, a lawyer, said. --Llanesca T. Panti/KBK, GMA News