Pogo hubs will no longer be allowed, says Pagcor chief

PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco (Photo from PAGCOR/INQUIRER files)

MANILA, Philippines—  Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) hubs will not be allowed anymore,  state gaming regulator told senators on Wednesday.

Philippine  Amusement and Gaming Corporation  (Pagcor) chief   Alejandro  Tengco disclosed this new policy when Senator Sherwin Gatchalian sought for an assurance that  criminalities from Pogos will not happen again.

Gatchalian mentioned in particular the  raided Pogo firm in Porac, Pampanga last month which was allegedly being used for  human trafficking and other criminal activities such as torture.

READ: Pampanga Pogo linked to scams, trafficking; 186 rescued in raid

Initially,  Tengco said he could not make such a promise but added that  Pagcor  will do its best to strictly monitor  the remaining 43  licensed  Pogo firms.

He said they will be doing  some “enhancements,” and one of them is to  ban Pogo hubs.

“We’re coming  out with certain guidelines. We’re already banning hubs,” the Pagcor chief said.

“In the mean time, there is no order for closure, this early I can inform everybody  that we will not allow any hub existing or  going to be applied  for.  We will not approve it anymore because we want to be sites specific and building specific,”  Tengco added.

READ: Pagcor chief Tengco appears in Senate probe into Pogos

Pagcor will also assign “24/7 teams”  that will monitor the 43 licensed Pogo firms, he also said.

“Hopefully that can deter, hopefully kung may napansin kaagad, takbo na  kami sa kapulisan para malaman,” he said.

(Hopefully that can deter, hopefully if we notice anything, we can immediately report it to the police.)

“Pero mahirap ko pong  sabihin sa bulwagang ito at sa harapang ito na ito na po ang huli dahil kung talagang sabi nyo nga e may criminal intent talaga yung natitira pa e baka hindi ko na po talaga kayanin  yung pag monitor dun,”  Tengco said.

(But it’s difficult for me to say in this  hall and in front of everyone here  that this will be the last [incident] because as you said if there is really a criminal intent, then I can no longer monitor it)

Before this,  Tengco said  Pagcor   will not  oppose should  Congress and  President  Ferdinand Marcos decide to  ban Pogos.

Several lawmakers have been calling for a permanent ban of Pogos following a number of  criminal  activities like torture and  human trafficking linked to the industry.