Business groups have expressed support for a total ban on Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO), which have been linked to illegal activities in the country.
The groups include the Makati Business Club, Alyansa Agrikultura, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, Foundation for Economic Freedom, Institute of Corporate Directors, Justice Reform Initiative, Management Association of the Philippines, and the University of the Philippines School of Economics Alumni Association.
Citing data from the National Economic and Development Authority, they said POGO investments’ contribution to the economy is minimal at 0.2 percent of gross domestic product last year.
They also cited the social costs, with recent hearings illustrating how POGOs have been linked to involvement in crimes such as human trafficking, kidnapping, and money laundering, among others.
Finance and NEDA Secretaries Ralph Recto and Arsenio Balisacan, respectively, have recommended a total ban on POGOs. The latter said that the government should be focusing on generating high quality jobs and not gambling jobs, while the former has sent a recommendation to totally ban POGOs to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The groups added that government should help reskill any Filipino workers who may lose their jobs due to the ban and enable affected industries to find alternative uses for their assets.
The government’s policy on POGOs will ultimately depend on President Marcos, and many will be watching for his statements on it when he delivers his third State of the Nation Address on Monday.
The pros and cons of POGO have been discussed and weighed endlessly over the past few months, and as the country’s chief decision maker, it is the President that must make the stand, and soon. Filipinos are hopeful that he will make his decision soon, and that it will be for the benefit of the common good, and not protect the vested interests of a privileged few.*
