POGOs dominate office demand
Credit to Author: LISBET K. ESMAEL| Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2019 16:48:48 +0000
The Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) industry has dominated the country’s office demand in the first nine months of the year despite political headwinds facing the sector, Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC) said on Monday.
At a press briefing, LPC President David Leechiu said POGOs took up 386,000 square meters (sqm) in the period.
It was the first time the information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) was overtaken as it only recorded 355,000 sqm.
In the last few weeks, the official noted, the sector has gone “ballistic” on Cambodia’s move to shut down its online gaming industry, following its ally China’s heightened crackdown versus online gambling.
“The POGO industry has started to aggressively take space,” he said.
The sector, which realized a boom in 2017, has been taking up spaces in Metro Manila business districts, including Bay City, Makati City, Muntinlupa City, and Quezon City.
Since the industry has been witnessing robust growth, operators have started looking at other districts, such as Pampanga, Clark, Cebu, Cavite, and Davao, Leechiu said.
If the trend continues, Leechiu said POGO may hit 420,000 sqm to 450,000 sqm in Metro Manila by end-2019, while business process outsourcing (BPO) may play from 350,000 sqm to 400,000 sqm.
Asked on uncertainties in POGO amid the China government’s call to President Duterte to join the ban on all online gambling, Leechiu shrugged off worries, stressing that
“if they disappeared today, the BPO will just backfill the requirement …”
“The POGO industry is not just China. China is maybe 60 or 70 percent of the market, but there are other players in the industry,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) on Monday backed the Department of Finance’s (DoF) call to close erring offshore gaming operators.
“We follow the law. BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) has the legal authority to close down establishments who evade taxes. Pagcor supports this move,” Pagcor Chairman Andrea Domingo said.
“We are issuing a letter to all Pogo operators and service providers to this effect,” added Domingo.
To recall, the DoF earlier said offshore gaming operators and their service providers whose tax liabilities remain unpaid will be shut down.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd said the closure of POGO operations which failed or refused to pay the tax liabilities of their foreign workers will be done with the help of the Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Justice, Bureau of Immigration, Office of the President and Pagcor.
He said cases will also be filed against these firms.
With a reports from ANNA LEAH E. GONZALES