MANILA – Some lawmakers are in favor of shutting down Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO) in the country due to tax evasion.
According to Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, the country lost billions in unpaid taxes since POGO firms began operating in 2016.
“Based sa aming computation, [sa] dapat na P62 billion, ang binabayaran lang ng POGO is more or less P11 billion, so ang nawawala sa ating gobyerno in terms of taxes is about P50 billion,” he explained.
“Sa akin, wala tayong nakukuhang malaking benepisyo sa POGO. Sa tingin ko dapat nang itigil kung hindi natin ma-enforce ang tamang buwis, hindi natin mabantayan ang airports dahil corrupted na ang ating immigration,” he added.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros earlier exposed an alleged “pastillas” scheme within the Bureau of Immigration that allows the seamless entry of Chinese nationals into the country for a fee starting at P10,000.
Some congressmen also called for a ban on POGOs during a hearing in the lower chamber.
“‘Pay or go home. ‘Pag hindi nagbayad, uwi na lang sila,” House Committee on Games and Amusement chairman Eric Yap said. (GMA News/PN)
