Risa: Gov't execs coaching POGOs to evade ban by registering as BPOs

Government officials are coaching Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) how to evade the industry ban by registering as Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firms to cover up their continued operations, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros said Thursday.

Hontiveros said this strategy is just one of the many employed by POGO firms given that President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. already issued an executive order banning such enterprises amid their alleged links to online scams, human trafficking, and other crimes.

"Sa ngayon, definitely andyan pa rin [ang POGO]. At masyado silang malikhain, eh. Gumagawa ng paraan na mag-iba [sila] ng identity... nagkukunwaring simple at legal BPOs lamang sila. Ang sumbong pa sa amin ay mismong mga ospisyal [ng gobyerno] pa na nagpapayo sa kanila na ganu'n ang kanilang gawin," Hontiveros said during Kapihan sa Senado.

(As of the moment, definitely, POGOs are still operating and are very creative. They make ways to hide their identity by pretending to be BPO firms. We even received reports of government officials who give them such advice.)

"'Yung mga sumbong sa amin ay may mga government officials pa na nagpapayo sa kanila na mga ganu'n [na] magbago na lang kayo ng porma, at least legally, na mga simple BPOs lamang pero nakatago sa loob nu'n ay mga POGO operations," Hontiveros added.

(We have received reports that government officials are coaching them to change their form, at least legally, and register as BPOs to conceal their continuing POGO operations.)

Hontiveros, however, said these reports did not drop names of the said government officials.

Asked if she thinks this means that the EO favored certain parties, Hontiveros said she hopes that such is not the case.

"I hope nobody was favored because I remember that I asked about an apparent loophole in the EO that CEZA could escape the ban on POGOs, but Executive Secretary [Lucas] Bersamin clarified that they (CEZA) are included and there will be a separate issuance [of an EO] from the Office of the President particularly for CEZA," Hontiveros said.

CEZA is the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority, which is authorized by law to issue offshore gaming licensees to interactive gaming (iGaming) operators.

In July this year, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile and his daughter, CEZA Chief Executive Officer Katrina Ponce Enrile, said the then-proposed POGO ban should not destroy CEZA operations, including iGaming. They said CEZA-licensed foreign iGaming operators operate legally and are prohibited from soliciting and accepting bets from the Philippines and other countries where gambling is prohibited.

Hontiveros said, "So hopefully, walang balak o nagkataong pinaboran pero it still stands to reason na mayroong gaps at mayroong mga malalabo pa roon sa current na formulation ng EO. Sana iwasto nila, linawin nila, whether doon sa aktual na EO or sa paglabas ng dagdag pang EO, para wala talagang lusot 'yung mga POGO sa anumang porma, sa anumang pangalan para sa kanilang patuloy na operasyon."
 
(It is my hope that there is no plan to favor certain parties, either willfully or by chance, but it still stands to reason that there are policy gaps under the current EO. I hope that they will correct, clarify these gaps, whether under the EO or in the future EO, so the POGOs cannot escape the POGO ban in whatever shape or form.)

Under the EO, all POGOs should have closed shop by Dec. 31. — VDV, GMA Integrted News