No POGOs inside Cagayan special economic zone, says CEZA

PAMPANGA, Philippines – “There are no POGOs (Philippine offshore gaming operations) in the Cagayan special economic zone and freeport. There never was and never will be.”

This was part of the 20-minute opening statement of Katrina Ponce Enrile, administrator and chief executive officer of the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) during the joint hearing on Wednesday, July 31, of the House committees on public order and safety, and games and amusement.

Also in the hearing was her father, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel and former senator Juan Ponce Enrile.

The Enrile patriarch authored Republic Act 7922 or the Cagayan Special Economic Zone Act of 1995. This law established CEZA as both a gaming authority and a special economic zone.

CEZA oversees and regulates offshore interactive gaming (iGaming) operations which predates the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation’s (Pagcor) POGOs by over a decade.

Katrina said CEZA maintained a record free of the criminal activities associated with POGOs such as kidnapping, torture, human trafficking, and murder.

“There has not even a single instance of crimes associated with POGOs under CEZA’s watch. It never had any instances of kidnapping, human trafficking, torture, scams, and murder,” she said.

“CEZA established itself as the first interactive gaming jurisdiction in Asia and stood at the forefront of regulatory innovation. The intention was to attract established and credible gaming operators in Europe and North America to outsource their services,” she said.

Katrina presented in the hearing a dozen key distinctions between the CEZA’s regulation of iGaming operations and POGOs. “”I believe that the distinction between CEZA and PAGCOR are some of the keys to our orderly regulation of iGaming,” she said.

The distinction she referred were:

1. CEZA focuses solely on licensing and regulations, this avoids conflicts of interests which are present in Pagcor’s role as both regulator and operator. 

2. CEZA developed its iGaming regulations over two decades through global best practices and technology. 

3. CEZA issues its own working visas and closely monitors expatriates who enter the Cagayan special economic zone and freeport in coordination with the Bureau of Immigration.

4. CEZA operates its own data center through a collaboration with a master licensor for its iGaming and internet gaming service providers (IGSSP) including its own internet service provider (ISP).

5. CEZA  master licensors invest $100 million each in the Cagayan special economic zone and freeport.

6. CEZA’s IGSSPs offer outsourced services to foreign gaming firms which are called “locators.”

7. Pagcor’s POGOs are spread across the Philippines which challenges the operational scope and oversight of Pagcor.

8. CEZA’s service providers do not accept bets.

9. CEZA does not permit sub-licensing.

10. CEZA follows a “one-company, one-license” model while Pagcor’s sub-licensing system has led to unregulated or scam operators and fly-by-night operations.

11. CEZA follows its charter and IRR on taxation.

12. CEZA does not “have tens of thousands of foreign workers” because it “controls the working visa issuance and physical entry into the special economic zone and freeport.” CEZA controls Filipino-foreign worker ratio and prioritizes local talent with a 70% Filipino workforce and 30% expatriates on average.

The Cagayan special economic zone also hosts  seaport operations, tourism, real estate development, and upcoming industrial parks.

Meanwhile, House Deputy Speaker and Isabela 1st District Representative Antonio Albano asked the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) to issue a public apology on the alleged presence of POGOs near Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites.

The Camilo Osias Naval Base Camilo in Sta. Ana town in Cagayan province is about 7.8 kilometers from CEZA according to Google Maps.

Although PAOCC refused to provide comment as of this writing, PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio has said the information was based on intelligence reports and documents from the Securities and Exchange Commission. – Rappler.com