Malacanang said on Thursday that there is no exodus of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators ( POGO) in the country.

In a televised press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that only over 20 POGOs out of more than 60 firms, which previously secured permits from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., have so far complied with the payment of franchise tax.

"There's no huge exodus. What happened is that 20 plus out of 60 have complied with the requirement of the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue). So that's not exodus because the policy of the Department of Finance is very clear - pay up, otherwise, the POGOs cannot operate here," he said.

He said there is only one POGO firm that left the country after Mainland China suspected that it was financing demonstrators.

"So, the word 'exodus' is not correct," Roque added.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III earlier said in a Senate hearing that there were lease contracts that were cancelled in some establishments in Metro Manila by POGOs. Celerina Monte/DMS