Philippine Senator Joel Villanueva has filed a petition following President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s announcement of a total ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday. A bill to repeal POGO tax laws.
The proposed bill, Senate Bill (SB) No. 2752, calls for the permanent cancellation of POGO licenses and gives POGOs 30 days to cease operations, Philippine news agencies reported.
“To comply with President Marcos’ directive, we must also ensure that there is no longer any trace of POGO in the Philippines,” Villanueva was quoted as saying.
The bill also stipulates that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will continue to collect unpaid taxes from POGOs despite the repeal of relevant tax laws.
Failure to comply will result in 12 to 20 years in prison, a fine of 100 million pesos (about 1.71 million U.S. dollars), or both. Foreign offenders will also be deported after serving their sentences.
If passed, SB 2752 would repeal Republic Act 11590 or the POGO Tax Act, which was signed into law in 2021.
Even before the POGO ban, Senator Villanueva expressed opposition to POGOs in the Philippines, and there were large-scale illegal POGO raids in Bamban, Tarlac, leading to then-mayor Alice Guo After his arrest, Guo became one of the senators pushing for a complete ban on online gambling in the Philippines.
