Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, a long-standing critic of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO), stated on his senatorial website that local government executives “should be held accountable for failing to monitor illegal activities of POGOs operating in their respective areas.”
Senator Gatchalian, referred on Tuesday to allegations relating to a recent case in Pampanga, northwest of the capital Manila.
He commended the Pampanga Provincial Board’s immediate action to investigate how an illegal POGO facility managed to undertake illegal activities under the nose of local government unit (LGU) officials, stating it was “commendable and worthy of imitation.”
However, he criticized certain LGU personnel for neglecting their duties, allowing a POGO hub to commit unspeakable crimes undetected, and emphasized that concerned LGU officials and personnel should be held accountable.
According to Gatchalian, the senator was reacting to the Pampanga Provincial Board’s ongoing investigation of a recent police raid on a POGO compound that straddles Porac and Angeles City in Pampanga.
The country’s gaming regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR), approved new regulations for POGOs, now referred to as “Internet Gaming Licensees” (IGL), in July last year. PAGCOR had previously noted that some former POGO licensees discredited the sector through tax avoidance, illegal employment, and failure to pay proper fees.
PAGCOR chairman and chief executive, Alejandro Tengco, stated earlier this month that legitimate IGLs generated more than PHP5 billion for the government in 2023.
Tengco emphasized that the real threat comes from alien hacking and scam syndicates operating underground, and assured full cooperation with law enforcement agencies to locate and dismantle them.
Illegal and unlicensed operators should not go undetected by the government agencies in order to help curb all the problems that could arise from their operators. Usually committing scams and frauds both in international and domestic fronts. More of these problems coming into light and mainstream media could help enlighten the general public and make the government act quicker.