THE gaming regulator on Monday, Aug. 14, said it had no way to run after a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) that fled the country during the pandemic without paying its dues worth P2.2 billion to the government.
“This was a P2.2 billion receivable from a POGO that was licensed during the last administration, and during the pandemic nawala na lang pong parang bula ‘yung POGO,” Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) chairman and chief executive officer Alejandro Tengco said.
“They closed shop and ran away,” he told lawmakers at the House of Representatives.
Tengco said that after he took over PAGCOR, it immediately sought to trace the POGO officers and found that they have left. The POGO also had no local incorporators.
“During the last exit conference, I had requested the COA (Commission on Audit) kung maaari po sana, stricken off na ‘yung receivable na ‘yun dahil wala na po talaga magagawa at hindi na po mahahabol,” he said.
“‘Yun lang naman po ang naging problema sa mga receivable ng mga nakaraang overseas gaming licensees noon pong nakaraang administration,” he continued.
POGOs under probation
Tengco said PAGCOR placed all POGOs in the Philippines under probationary status.
He said there were 32 main POGO licensees and 106 service providers left in the country.
“We’re requiring all active licensees to reapply at up to Sept. 15 only,” Tengco said. “If they do not reapply on or before Sept. 15 we will cancel their existing license.”
PAGCOR has improved its regulatory efforts after it failed to collect any fines or penalties for four years, said Tengco.
“Ngayon po, sa unang anim na buwan pa lang ng 2023, $1.5 million na ang fines and penalties na aming nakolekta dito po sa mga nasabing 30 lang na licensee,” he said.
He added: “Under my administration, we are really trying our best to be able to make sure that all the licensees will follow all the rules and regulations.”
Tengco said the regulator raids illegal operators weekly and recently suspended the licenses of six operators.
PAGCOR also cancelled the licenses of an operator in Clark for its violations, he said.
Doubling POGO collections
PAGCOR hopes to double its collections from POGO licensees in 2023, Tengco said.
“Inabutan ko po diyan ang income po ng overseas gaming licensees natin is P2.1 billion. Pagkatapos po nung 2022 especially nung andoon po ako last quarter, naiakyat natin po ‘yan sa P3 billion. Ngayon po sa 2023, we’re projecting po mga P4.2 to 4.5 billion,” he said.
“Kung matapos po ang taong 2023, nadoble ko na po ‘yung income generated,” he related.
COA as independent auditor
Tengco also revealed that the COA took over as an independent auditor for all POGOs, after PAGCOR cancelled its P5.8-billion contract with a private contractor when it found that its bid was fraudulent due to a spurious bank certification.
Tengco said COA created a special team for this purpose, which is a stopgap measure while it was looking at how to get a new contractor.
This, after Albay 2nd District’s Rep. Joey Salceda pointed out that COA might not have the capability to ensure fairness of the POGO operations, as the commission only ensures the integrity of the audit.
Tengco also said PAGCOR was seeking to recover previous payments to the dismissed contractor worth over P1 million. (ABS-CBN News)
