TAKING a cue from the figures released by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operation (POGO) doesn’t give much insofar as revenues from taxes and franchises are concerned.
In fact, no less than the National Economic and Development Authority admitted that POGO’s contribution to the economy has been declining in recent years. As of 2022, POGOs remitted P53.1 billion, which is 0.31% of the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP).
The 2023 figure should be much lower as the government went aggressively against POGO establishments amid reports of their being involved in heinous crimes which include human trafficking, kidnapping, white slavery, and illegal drugs to name a few.
As far as social contribution is concerned, POGO promotes laziness and nurtures a false hope of advancement by luck rather than hard work.
Its operations in the country is ironic, to say the least, because while online gambling is illegal in China, the Philippine government made it legal for the sake of financial gain.
The continued operation of POGOs is more like a government admission of its inability to properly address our pitiful national economic condition.
To argue that the country badly needs revenues generated from POGOs, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) for that matter, is to admit the helplessness of the national leadership and a surrender on bended knees to the rule of the unarmed enemy of society called gambling.
Filipinos are known globally for being industrious, for which many foreign employers pick our race – that is on top of the cheap labor we offer.
Promoting laziness by allowing the proliferation and operation of gambling firms is either sheer stupidity or conspiracy to allow the transformation of the Philippines into a gambling nest where people would simply rely on luck.
#WeTakeAStand #POGO #OpinYon #OpinYonMetro