Chavit believes guidelines over Pogos ought to simply be amended

Luis Chavit Singson 
Videograb from the official Fb web page of Luis Chavit Singson

MANILA, Philippines — Senatorial aspirant and former Ilocos Sur Gov. Chavit Singson mentioned on Saturday that the principles that coated the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogos) ought to simply have been amended, and the ban had not been carried out.

That is what Singson answered when he was requested about his stand on Pogo. In keeping with the previous governor, the ban on Pogos resulted in an enormous earnings loss for the federal government.

“Pogo mustn’t have been banned. It ought to have simply been taxed. Improve the tax of Pogos as a result of they’d simply switch [operations] or conceal [from authorities],” Singson mentioned in Filipino throughout a information discussion board in Quezon Metropolis.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in his third State of the Nation Tackle introduced that Pogos might be banned, saying that the operations led to unlawful actions corresponding to monetary scamming, human trafficking, kidnapping and even homicide.

READ: DOF: Pogo ban impact on tax drive minimal

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“We misplaced an enormous quantity of earnings. Many misplaced their jobs. It ought to have simply been amended… Why are we banning it if the federal government receives an enormous earnings from it?” Singson added in Filipino.

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Finance Secretary Ralph Recto mentioned in August that the Pogo ban wouldn’t have an effect on the federal government’s income assortment, citing that the federal government had already reached its income goal within the first half of the 12 months.

In June, Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda mentioned that the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) has been modernizing its insurance policies, including that “the licensing rules on offshore gaming, now often called web gaming licensees underneath Pagcor’s revised guidelines, have considerably improved income collections regardless of additionally lowering the variety of whole licensees.”

As of July 16, 2024, there are 38 web gaming licensees have been granted common licenses, whereas seven got provisional licenses.

Additional, the Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma beforehand mentioned that help can be given to displaced Pogo employees, saying that the ban will contribute to a rise in unemployment.

READ: PAOCC says 100 Pogos nonetheless working regardless of ban, vows crackdown

In the meantime, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Fee chief Gilbert Cruz just lately mentioned that round 100 Pogos are nonetheless working nationwide. He additionally mentioned that others are winding down their operations.

The Bureau of Immigration beforehand mentioned that international Pogo employees solely had till October 15, to voluntarily downgrade their visas from work standing to a short lived customer visa “thereby enabling them to stay legally within the Philippines for 59 days whereas winding down their affairs.”