COA already ‘enlightened’ on PAGCOR’s P1.36B collectibles

THE Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) under chair, Andrea Domingo, quashed speculations over the more than P1.36 billion in revenue that it purportedly was still unable to collect, based on the 2020 audit report by the Commission on Audit (COA).

In a statement last September 6, 2021, the state-run gaming firm said the amount flagged by COA were products of its “intensive fight against illegal online gambling” and its “stringent effort to maximize collection for the government.”

“PAGCOR would like to state that COA has already been ‘enlightened’ on the facts surrounding said ‘uncollected accounts receivables,’” reads the statement from Domingo’s office.

“For the years 2018, 2019 and 2020, PAGCOR intensified its regulatory efforts by conducting research and carrying out investigations on undeclared websites, games and operations which are supposedly linked to the agency’s POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators) Licensees.

“PAGCOR found several websites which appear to be mirrors of the declared websites of its operators as they contain their games, with some even containing their brands or logos.

“As an initial remedial measure, the agency imposed assumed or estimated billings for these websites based on the average income performance of the original declared websites of its licensees, subject to their availing of PAGCOR’s protest mechanism for questioned billings,” PAGCOR said.

However, the gaming regulator also said the collection was made difficult because the licensees have claimed that the identified websites purportedly belong to “illegal operators” who have been “stealing” the live streams of the licensees.

“At present, said amount and the discovered websites are still in the process of revalidation pursuant to existing procedures; while some hve already been resolved, the others are still undergoing thorough validation,” PAGCOR said, adding:

“The COA audit observation on past due receivables persists and remains unresolved due to the unsettled protests filed by other POGO licensees.”