POGO FIRMS DARAGSA SA PINAS

HINDI mala­yong madagdagan ang bilang ng international online gambling operators at bumuhos ang kanilang libo-libong tauhan bansa dahil sa pinaiiral na ‘crackdown’ ng Cambodia government laban sa sarili nitong offshore gaming industry, ayon sa isang kongresista.

Sinabi ni House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs Chairman at Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) party-list Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza na kamakailan ay inihayag ni Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen ang pagnanais nito na tulu­yang ipahinto ang lahat ng online gambling ope­rations sa kanilang bansa sa pagtatapos ng taong kasalukuyan.

Noong nakaraang buwan ay sinimulan na rin ng gobyerno ng Cambodia ang ban sa pag-iisyu ng lisensiya para sa mga bagong offshore gambling operator, na nagresulta sa pag-alis doon ng nasa 6,000 Chinese nationals, na pawang online gaming workers.

Ani Mendoza, dahil nananatiling ‘attractive’ ang Filipinas sa mata ng mga maintainer ng online gambling, posibleng dito sa bansa ilipat upang maipagpatuloy ang kanilang negosyo ang mga mapapaalis na operators sa Cambodia.

“The TUCP is anticipating the migration of these displaced operators and thousands of Chinese workers from Cambodia into the country. Our country remains attractive to Chinese online operators and workers though the Philippine government suspended issuing new licenses to prospective offshore gaming operators,” pahayag pa ng party-list solon, na siya ring vice-chairman ng House Committee on Labor and Employment.

Dahil dito ay dapat aniyang magkaroon ng kaukulang paghahanda ang pamahalaan hinggil dito kung saan iminungkahi ni Mendoza ang pagbuo ng isang Philippine Offshore Gaming Operation (POGO) Coordinating Body, na magkakaroon ng ‘supervision and control’ sa naturang sektor o industriya, na sa ngayon ay patuloy na lumalawak.

“While we are assessing the POGO’s overall social implications and weigh the comprehensive benefits of this online gambling industry in our economy by putting on hold issuance of new operating licenses, the TUCP would like to propose the creation of a POGO coordinating body that has supervision and control of the industry for the benefit of the country,” pagbibigay-diin ng kongresista.

Bagama’t may ilang ahensiya ng pamahalaan na nakatuon sa POGO industry, kabilang na rito ang Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR),  Bureau of Immigration (BI), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), at ang Philippine National Police (PNP), naniniwala si Mendoza sa pangangailangan ng pagkakaroon ng isang coordinating body para mas lalong matutukan ito.

“Government agencies have limited authority and they cease to function on area that is beyond their mandate. The discoordination between and among these agencies might cause government to entirely lose control of the industry. We have to learn from the Cambodian experience specifically in the aspect of government control over the entire aspects of the growing industry that has the potential to our economy,” sabi pa ng party-list representative.

Ang ipinanunukalang POGO coordinating body ay magiging isang attached-unit ng Office of the President (OP), na binubuo ng mga kinatawan ng iba’t ibang concerned government agencies at labor at business sectors. ROMER R. BUTUYAN