HOUSE Minority Leader Bienvenido Abante Jr. on Monday, May 4, said he plans to file a bill seeking to ban Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogo) in the country.
In his privilege speech at the resumption of the House session Monday, Abante noted how Pogo firms are allowed to resume operations while other industries remain closed.
“Nakakalungkot po na sa gitna ng krisis, pinapayagan uli ang mga Pogo na mag-operate dito habang may mga industriya na nananatiling sarado dahil sa ECQ,” Abante said.
“Hindi lamang yan, Mr. Speaker. Habang pinapayagan po natin na mag operate ang Pogo samantalang alam natin hindi sila sumusunod sa guidelines ng ating pamahalaan on social distancing ay pinigilan po naman ng pamahalaan na magkaroon ng pagsamba ang mga simbahan kahit na susunod ito sa guidelines ng gobyerno,” he added.
Abante said he was disappointed by some government officials in the executive branch who insisted that Pogo firms may be considered business process outsourcing (BPO) providers.
“Nakakadismaya na para mabuksan ang mga Pogo na ito, ipinipilit pa natin na
isama ang mga Pogo sa mga BPO na sinasabing ‘essential services’ na kailangang
mag-operate sa gitna ng ECQ,” he said.
“Bakit? Do Pogos employ Filipinos? No. Do Pogos perform an essential
service? No. Kumikita ba ang mamamayang Pilipino dito? Hindi po,” he added.
It can be recalled the Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Pogo firms are BPOs.
“Ang inaprubahan po ng IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) ay iyong pagbubukas ng mga BPOs, so matagal na po iyang approval na iyan. Ang Pogos naman po kasi ay isang klase ng BPO, wala pong favoritism diyan,” Roque said in a Laging Handa public briefing on May 2.
The IT-BPO Association of the Philippines took exception to Roque’s claim and said Pogo firms are not considered part of the BPO sector.
Before a Pogo firm is allowed to resume operations, it will have to present a certificate from the Bureau of Internal Revenue that it does not have tax liabilities.
“Very strict po kami sa requirement na ito na ma-settle po nila yung kanila pong remaining na unpaid taxes with BIR. As to Pagcor requirement, they have to activate the payment of their regulatory fees. Kailangan din po nilang magbayad ng minimum guarantee fee for the month of April kahit po wala silang operations for the month of April,” senior offshore gaming officer Diane Erica Jogno of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) said during the Laging Handa forum Monday morning.
She insisted that Pogo firms are considered part of the BPO because of its support services, one of its three components. Support services include customer services, technical support and business development functions.
Only the support services component has physical presence in the Philippines. The two others, players and operators, are situated outside the country.
“Ito po ay subcontracted services, and being subcontracting service, sila po ay BPO kaya po kami ay napayagan para mag-resume ang operations,” Jogno added.
At the House, Abante said he will be filing the “Anti-Pogo Act of 2020”, which will permanently ban the business in the country.
“Hindi po Pogo ang solusyon. We lose billions in revenues due to corruption and inefficiency in our revenue collections agencies, and these are issues we should instead address if we want greater revenues for government operations,” Abante said. (SunStar Philippines)