Peza to allow gaming firms as locators

The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) will now allow gaming firms in Peza-accredited buildings after being prodded by the Office of the President, abandoning its previous position to kick out gambling firms that share the same space with Peza locators.

Peza Director General Charito B. Plaza told reporters last week that she would allow any gaming firm that might have been given license by any of these three agencies: Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (Ceza) and the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone Authority (Apeco).

This is a sudden change in its position after just deciding in April not to let gaming firms share the same buildings with Peza-registered business process outsourcing (BPO) firms, cautioning against being implicated in the infamous reputation of online gambling.

“It’s going to be a political decision now because of the request of Malacañang that we allow them in our buildings. We will be giving them permits to locate in the Peza buildings provided that these are really the legal agencies who are included under Executive Order 13,” she said.

In February, President Duterte signed EO 13, which aims to beef up the government’s efforts in curbing illegal gambling while clarifying what forms of gambling are allowed by law.

Peza, which Plaza said did not have a mandate for gaming firms, would now give building permits to gaming companies, including BPO companies that provide support services like payroll and auditing to online gambling activities.

While Plaza said she was still waiting for “the guidance of Malacañang” regarding the finer details of the actual implementation of the new policy, she said that the companies would not receive any incentives from Peza.

She said the gaming firms only need to have their Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) licenses ready.

However, Plaza said that she has reservations with this arrangement, noting that Ceza and Apeco were operating outside their geographical territories. She said that these ecozone agencies reportedly lacked internet infrastructure in their areas.

Ceza and Apeco, which are allowed by law to regulate tourism-related activities including games and amusements, could provide incentives to companies that would want to lease space in a Peza-accredited building, she said.

The same incentives would not be extended to firms allowed by Pagcor, she added.