By Wilnard Bacelonia | Philippine News Agency
Senator Joel Villanueva on Tuesday filed a bill to repeal the law taxing Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. banned all POGOs due to their alleged disorder and disrespect for Philippine laws.
Senate Bill (SB) No. 2752 calls for permanently canceling POGO licenses and giving POGOs 30 days to cease operations.
“Bilang pagsunod sa direktiba ni Pangulong Marcos, kailangan na rin po nating siguraduhin na wala nang bakas ng POGO sa Pilipinas,” Villanueva said.
Failure to comply with the proposed bill may result in imprisonment of 12 to 20 years or a fine of P100 million or both and will subject foreign offenders to deportation after serving the sentence.
SB 2752 also mandates the Bureau of Internal Revenue to continue collecting unpaid taxes from POGOs despite the repeal.
A Workers’ Transition Program will also be implemented to assist the affected Filipino workers.
Villanueva emphasized that the negative impacts of POGOs outweigh any benefits from the taxes they pay and urged their expulsion from the country.
“The evidence of crimes and social ills from POGO operations immensely overwhelm the benefits the Filipinos get from the taxes they pay,” Villanueva said.
If passed into law, SB 2752 shall repeal Republic Act No. 11590 or the Act Taxing POGOs, which was signed into law in 2021.