I hope they find way to ban Pogo without affecting IGLs – Salceda

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda, who has previously called for calm regarding talks on Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogo), said that he hopes the government finds a way to ban the games without affecting the new internet gaming licenses (IGLs).

Salceda in an interview on Monday — right after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced in his 2024 State of the Nation Address (Sona) a total ban on all Pogos — said that Pogos only play a small part of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) revenues on IGLs.

READ: Marcos: ‘All Pogos are banned!’ 

“It’s an executive discretion.  The key there is that Pogo is just part, small part of a bigger pie called IGL, which is the internet gaming licenses, that’s 43 percent of Pagcor.  P1 2 billion lang ang Pogo, so ang ibig sabihin n’yan, I hope they find a way of banning Pogo without having to affect the IGLs,” Salceda told reporters.

READ: Highlights: Sona 2024

“I’ll show you an IGL, here, anybody can play this.  This is an IGL — internet gaming, it’s everywhere,” he added, while trying to show an online game on his mobile phone.

When asked if he is now against Pogos, Salceda said he is not, clarifying that he only hopes that the government can differentiate IGLs from Pogos.

“No, I said — well of course, IGLs are legitimate, so I just hope that they will find a technical way of differentiating Pogos and IGLs — ‘di na nga nila nagawa na ma-differentiate ‘yong illegal at saka legal Pogo, ‘yon pa kayang legitimate IGL at saka the entire Pogo system, some of which are very legitimate,” Salceda said.

“Well, at least China’s happy,” he added.

Salceda has been adamant about the government needing only to focus on illicit Pogos to eradicate the illegal activities linked to the games, instead of a full ban that would affect the whole industry — even if the operations are above-board.

Last July 17, Salceda said that Marcos can address the Pogo issue in his Sona by only asking law enforcement agencies like the Philippine National Police (PNP) to strictly implement rules on Pogos.

“It’s simple: Implement the law. Follow the law. Enforce the law. If you enforce the law, naturally, you will catch violators,” Salceda said last Friday.

READ: Will Marcos mention Pogos in Sona? Tell PNP to ‘enforce the law’ – Salceda 

Salceda also shares a similar sentiment with House of Representatives Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, who initially said that he was for a strict enforcement of laws to avoid erring Pogos.

READ: Romualdez: Ban illegal Pogos only; total ban may lead to underground ops 

Romualdez feared that a total ban on Pogos might only force gaming operators to go underground — which means the government can no longer regulate them.