THE Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) warded off calls made by the Department of National Defense and insisted there’s no Philippine Offshore Gaming Operation (POGO) sites near Philippine military installations.
Responding to Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.s statement seeking relocation of POGO hubs near Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) camps, PAGCOR Chairman Alejandro Tengco said the agency did not issue licenses to POGO firms operating near the military bases.
“Gusto ko lang po ipagbigay-alam kay Secretary Teodoro wala pong licensed Pogo hub na katabi ng any military camp na pinagkakaloob ng PAGCOR,” Tengco was quoted as saying in a radio interview.
If ever there is one, Tengco claimed with certainty those are illegally operating.
“Kaya maliwanag, illegal na naman ‘yang mga hub na sinasabi na nakadikit sa mga military camps na yan,” he added.
The Defense chief issued the call following an assessment made by security expert Chester Cabalza who went as far as tagging POGO hubs as a “Trojan Horse” which could be used to launch a surprise attack to vital military installations.
Among the POGO hubs PAGCOR identified as illegal after their licenses were revoked in 2023 are those in Bamban, Tarlac and Porac, Pampanga.
Both POGO facilities have been raided twice.
Aside the raided POGO hubs in Bamban and Porac, there were also 250 more offshore gaming operators who were stripped of their licenses.
“Actually, yung malalaki na yan — yung Bamban at Porac— eh wala naman na pong mga lisensya sa Pagcor yan eh,” he said.
The PAGCOR chief admitted though that there are about 300 firms under probationary status sometime in September last year. Of that number, only 46 got their licenses back.
Another crackdown was conducted on these remaining 46 sites, which effectively reduced the total number of accredited sites to 43.
“Humigit kumulang 300 ang napagkalooban ng lisensya ng huling administrasyon ng PAGCOR. At ito nga ay masusing pinag-aralan at nakita yung mga ginagawa nila ay yung mga bagay na wala nang ukol sa gaming kaya minarapat namin sometime in September 2023 na ilagay lahat sa probationary status at pagkatapos po niyan ay sinalang mabuti,” Tengco added.
“Humigit kumulang nasa 46 na lang po ang natitira. Ang problema po talaga ay hindi ‘yung mga licencees ng PAGCOR kundi yung mga humigit kumulang na mga nasa 250 dyan na mga di na napagkalooban ng lisensya muli ay patuloy pa rin ang kanilang paghahanap-buhay nang illegal.”
He added that most of the remaining licensees are Metro Manila-based..
“Tatlo po sa apatnapu’t anim na ‘yun eh kelan lamang eh sinuspindi ng PAGCOR. Naramdaman namin na may mga hindi maganda na gawaing nauukol sa ilalim ng bagong regulasyon ng Pagcor. So we immediately suspended the three. 43 po ang aktibo sa kasalukuyan na mga internet gaming licensees,” Tengco added.
“Ang maliwanag po sa natitirang 43, they are within the Metro Manila area and kung meron man one or two within the outskirts of Metro Manila eh wala po kaming napapansin na illegal silang gawain,” he added. (ANGEL F. JOSE)
