Villanueva says POGOs are ‘fertile ground for illicit transactions’

Aika Rey

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Villanueva says POGOs are ‘fertile ground for illicit transactions’
'We maintain that the sector does very little to benefit the country,' says the senator

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Joel Villanueva on Wednesday, August 28, said Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGOs) are “fertile ground” for illicit transactions, as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) was set to launch a study on its operations.

“It’s also worth noting that POGOs are fertile ground for illicit transactions, such as money laundering, among other crimes. If our government does not put in safeguards on this sector as soon as possible, we risk being branded as another money laundering hotspot,” Villanueva said in a statement.

On Tuesday, August 27, BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno bared his plan to conduct a review of POGO operations with the help of the Anti-Money Laundering Council. (READ: How China’s online gambling addiction is reshaping Manila)

While Diokno did not raise any possibility of money laundering as a concern, he said that the study would be used to “guide” the Monetary Board.

Villanueva welcomed this development, and said the BSP and the AMLC would be invited to future inquiries on the matter, to be conducted by the Senate committee on labor, which he chairs. 

“We’re glad the Bangko Sentral is taking action on POGOs with the study commissioned by Governor Diokno, and this aligns with a resolution we filed earlier this month calling for an inquiry [into] the influx of foreign workers in the country, especially in POGOs,” Villanueva said on Thursday.

Villanueva has filed a resolution seeking a fresh inquiry into the benefits of POGOs in the country. In the 17th Congress, Villanueva had also led the panel which found that POGO revenues shot up to P7.365 billion in 2018, but the tax agency collects only 5% of gaming receipts.

Even the Department of Finance had said that at least P22 billion in income taxes were left uncollected because of the lax regulations on POGOs.

Villanueva has also raised concerns over rising rental prices, which he said is creating a “real estate bubble.” (READ: Online gambling: Good for whose business?)

“We maintain that the sector does very little to benefit the country. POGOs do not create jobs for Filipinos, and the influx of foreign workers which POGOs primarily employ, [has] driven property prices upwards to the detriment of Filipino businesses and workers,” Villanueva said.

POGOs usually employ only Chinese workers due to the language requirement.

The operators are supposedly under the regulation of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, but the gaming agency earlier denied responsibility over the foreign workers.

In July, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr expressed concerns about the influx of Chinese workers in the country, particularly about reports that entire buildings in parts of Metro Manila are occupied by the foreigners.  Rappler.com

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Aika Rey

Aika Rey is a business reporter for Rappler. She covered the Senate of the Philippines before fully diving into numbers and companies. Got tips? Find her on Twitter at @reyaika or shoot her an email at aika.rey@rappler.com.