Philippines Senate wants to privatise all PAGCOR casinos

Senate Minority Leader says state-owned casinos should be sold to raise funds to help fight Covid-19.

Philippines.- The Senate of the Philippines has called for the immediate sale of all PAGCOR casinos to help fund the country’s fight against Coronavirus.

Senate Minority Leader, Franklin Drilon, argued that all of the regulator’s 47 casinos should become state assets that could be immediately privatised and sold.

According to CNN Philippines, he said: “The government does not have to look far to raise additional revenues.

“There are ‘low-hanging fruit’ the government can immediately tap to provide the much needed resources for our country to survive this pandemic.”

Figures announced last year suggested the government could collect around Php300billion (US$6billion) in additional annual revenue through privatisation.

PAGCOR has recently revealed big losses since the lockdown measures in the Philippines caused all casinos to be closed.