A Congressman in the Philippines is calling for the abolition of PAGCOR and for it to be replaced with a new agency called PAGCOM.
Bukidnon 2nd District Representative Jonathan Keith Flores, who is also the chairperson of the House Committee on Government Reorganization, proposed on Saturday to abolish state-run gaming firm Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) and privatize its self-operated casinos.
In its place, Flores’s proposal aims to create the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Commission (PAGCOM) to regulate gaming operations in the country.
Flores announced in a news release on Saturday that he adopted House Bill 3559, originally authored by former Batangas lawmaker and current Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, as his own. The bill seeks to address PAGCOR’s conflicting roles as both regulator and operator by privatizing state-run casinos.
“I adopted House Bill 3559 because it will abolish PAGCOR, transfer its regulatory powers to PAGCOM, and privatize all existing PAGCOR operations and casinos, including all PAGCOR online gaming,” Flores stated.
He mentioned that, during the joint deliberation of the Government Reorganization and Games and Amusement committees, he will introduce amendments to phase out all Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) licensed by PAGCOR.
Additionally, he will propose to dismantle all illegal POGOs operating without licenses or with expired licenses.
Flores also plans to amend the bill to ban online games on mobile phones and cyberspace that are used for cybercrime, scams, identity theft, and online theft.
Under the bill, PAGCOM would collect a 5 percent gross revenue tax from casino operators.
PAGCOM will also collect an additional 25 percent from aggregate gross earnings, earmarked for local government priority projects, the establishment and operation of rehabilitation centers for addiction treatment, and other national government social services programs.
