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4 House leadersseek
probeof Pogoindustry
By DJ Yap
@qeeEvqllryo _
Four House leaders led by Deputy
Speaker Eddie Villanueva and Mi-
nority Leader Bienvenido Abante
Jr. are calling for a congressional
inquiry into the Philippine off-
shore gaming operators (Pogo) in-
dustry amid the influx of undocu-
mented foreign workerg most of
whom do not pay any ta,\es.
Touchyissues
. At the center of the planned
House investigation are touchy
issues surounding the employ-
ment of mair y Chinese Pogo
workers, such as nonpayment of
income taxes, violations of immi-
gration and labor laws, and possi-
ble security threats drising from
the proximity of Pogo hubs to
military and police camps.
On Monday, the lawmakers
filed House Resolution No. 337
urging Congress to launch an in-
quiry into the estimated uo,ooo
aliens working in Polos.
The objective of the inquiry is
to amend laws "to allow tlle go\/-
emment to effectively regulate
the indusey and to ensure that
the government is able to proper-
Eddie Villanueva -RTCHARDA.
REYCS
" threats do these Pogo hubs near
ly collect revenues from its oper-
ations," the proponents said.
Besides Abarte and Villanri€-
va, tlle otler autiors of the mea-
sure are Manila Rep. Manuel Luis
Lopez and Muntinlupa Rep. Roz-
zano Rufino Biazon.
In a staGment, Abante said AIe
inquiry was long overdue "given
the numerous issues tlat have sur-
faced regarding the Pogo industry."
. "Department of Labor data
shows that there are 63,855 docu-
mented foreign nationals wprk-
ing in the Pogo industry. But
tlere are some estimates that
peg the number at po,ooo, and
until today the government is
still reconciling its data," the
Manila representative said.
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"The fact that we cannot
even accurately account for
these workers is troubling. If we
have problems with regard to
their documentation, then we
will definitely have issues prop-
erly determining revenue col-
lection," saidAbante.
Pogo hubs near camps
Aside ftom the revenue losses,.
Abante said he and the other law-
makers were disturbed by reports
tllat Pogo hubs had been estab-
.lished in what Defense Secretary
DeLfin lorerzi.rn described as
"sh-ategic locations," spuring
speculatiods of Chinese espionage.
Some Philippine defense ir-
stallations that are near Chinese
online casinos include the Armed
Forces headquarters at Camp
Aguinaldo, the Philippine Na-
tional Police headquarters at
Camp crame, the Air Force head-
quarters in Pasay City, the Philip-
pine Army headquarteqs in
Taguig City, the Philippine Navy
headquarters on Roxas Boule-
vard and Sangley Point in Cavite.
Lost taxes
"What kind of possible
our defense installations repre-
sent? These and other concerns
are what we want to address in
an inquiry," Abante said.
He dso cited a Depatment of
Finance (DOF) estimate that t}Ie
govemment was losing P2 billion
a month in personal income taxes
that were not being collected
from t}Ie Pogo workers.
Earlier this month, Finance As-
sistant Secretary Antonio lambino
II was quoted as saying "our esti-
nate is Arat P2 billion a month {isl
not being collected ftom personal
income taxes, and that is why an
intengency task force has been
formed by the DOF in order to
make sure who is here in the coun-
tyworking in the sector." hlQ