Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. (File photo)
MANILA – Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. on Tuesday described the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) as a “plague” following revelations by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri that the country has been placed on China’s blacklist of tourist destinations due to the presence of POGOs in the country.
"Salot, hindi sulit (It’s a plague, it’s not worth it),” Abante said, referring to POGOs that started operations in the country in 2016.
He said “this latest development” further strengthened the case for banning POGOs in the country.
"Hindi na nga tayo nakikinabang dyan sa POGO, apektado pa turismo natin dahil sa negosyong ito (While we are not benefiting from POGO, this business has even affected our tourism industry)," said Abante, who has filed a bill banning POGOs.
Abante, an anti-gambling advocate, said before the pandemic, the country marked a record-high number of foreign tourist arrivals with a huge percentage coming from China.
“So this news could have a huge negative impact on our tourism promotion efforts,” he added.
Data from the Department of Tourism showed that in 2019, a record 8.26 million foreign tourists visited the country. Of this number, 1.74 million or 21.1 percent came from China.
"Over the course of a decade, the number of foreign tourists that have visited the country has steadily increased. The Covid-19 pandemic stalled the upward trajectory of Philippine tourism, and this blacklisting move by the Chinese government could compromise our ability to regain our momentum," he said.
At the Senate hearings on POGOs, Zubiri cited information from a meeting with Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian, and told his colleagues that the Philippines had been blacklisted due to POGOs operating in the Philippines.
“The Philippines now is part of a blacklist of tourist sites because they do not know if the tourist will be joining POGO operations, and they do not know if the Chinese nationals who go to the Philippines will be safe from illegal activities being done by the triad, by the syndicates operating POGO. They may also be kidnapped, mistaken as POGO operators," Zubiri said Monday. (PNA)
