THE Commission on Audit (COA) revealed that: the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) should collect P1.36 billion from Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators or POGOs.
The state auditor revealed in a report released last August 6 that Pagcor has been unable to collect receivables amounting to P1.365 billion from POGOs.
Auditors said there were 15 POGOs with outstanding balances that were already past due by one to three years.
In addition, Pagcor also has uncollected dues from poker, bingo and other electronic gaming firms totaling P16.203 million.
Pagcor management said that out of the P1.382 billion past due accounts, it has already processed P97.325 million for restructuring while another P6.079 million were “adjusted.”
Of the 15 POGOs, eight already had their licenses cancelled, one was suspended, three is under review by Pagcor’s Legal Department, and three more remain operational based on verifications dated January 12, 2021.
The audit report did not identify the offshore gaming companies but showed the top two delinquent ones have payables totaling P462.604 million and P179.764 million, respectively.
Both had their licenses cancelled as of March 21, 2020.
The third has past due accounts amounting to P174.405 million but had its license also cancelled as of June 30, 2020.
From the breakdown provided in the audit report, the rest has unpaid sums ranging from P7.89 million to P127.012 million.
“Considering the substantial amount of uncollected accounts receivable, the inability to collect deprived the Pagcor of additional funds for its operations,” the COA said.
The COA said Pagcor should direct its vice president for Finance to prioritize efforts to collect from gaming firms with receivables that are already counting one to nine years.
It also recommended that the Offshore Gaming and Licensing Department should monitor performance bonds and forfeit those that are delinquent to satisfy their liabilities to Pagcor.