Asia

Philippines Finance Secretary Calls for Privatisation of PAGCOR’s Casinos

Published

2 years ago

December 14, 2022

Niji Narayan

Reading Time: < 1 minute

The Philippines’ Department of Finance Secretary, Benjamin Diokno, has resurrected calls for PAGCOR to privatise its casinos, claiming it is “wrong” that the agency continues to fulfil conflicting roles as both a regulator and an operator.

Speaking to local media amid ongoing debate over the proposed creation of sovereign wealth fund, of which PAGCOR is envisioned as a key contributor, Diokno said it was important to clarify the regulator’s role by selling off the 47 casinos under its watch.

He said: “PAGCOR is a regulator but at the same time it operates gambling companies. That’s wrong. If you’re a regulator, stick to that. You cannot run gambling casinos. It’s like saying that you have a central bank and yet you’re also running a bank. That cannot work. We can privatize its operations so PAGCOR can stick to being a regulator.”

The possible privatisation of PAGCOR-operated casinos is currently being evaluated by the Philippines’ Governance Commission for GOCC after PAGCOR chair Alejandro Tengco described the move as appealing shortly after being sworn into office in August.

But not all are in favour with House Speaker Rufus Rodriguez recently calling instead for the creation of a dedicated casino regulator, leaving PAGCOR only as an operator.

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Niji Narayan

Niji Narayan has been in the writing industry for well over a decade or so. He prides himself as one of the few survivors left in the world who have actually mastered the impossible art of copy editing. Niji graduated in Physics and obtained his Master’s degree in Communication and Journalism. He has always interested in sports writing and travel writing. He has written for numerous websites and his in-depth analytical articles top sports magazines like Cricket Today and Sports Today. He reports gaming industry headlines from all around the globe.