Philippines finance secretary joins chorus of supporters for privatization of PAGCOR casinos

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.

“PAGCOR is a regulator but at the same time it operates gambling companies. That’s wrong,” he said. “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 privatization 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 favor with House Speaker Rufus Rodriguez recently calling instead for the creation of a dedicated casino regulator, leaving PAGCOR only as an operator.

Critics of the privatization model point to the sizeable revenues PAGCOR’s casinos bring in each year, which in 2019 saw the agency remit more than Php56 billion (US$1 billion) to the government through its mandated contributions and other corporate social responsibility programs.

The proposed Maharlika Wealth Fund, which if established will invest into financial markets and large-scale infrastructure projects around the world, is also slated to receive 10% of the gross gaming revenues generated from PAGCOR casinos.

It was these significant contributions that ultimately saw a previous privatization push abandoned with then-PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Andrea Domingo telling IAG in 2018 that the sale of its casino assets had been shelved because they were generating such strong cash flows.