MANILA -- Offshore gaming or POGOs should remain shut with the country under varying stages of quarantine due to COVID-19, Malacañang said Monday.

Should the government decide to reopen Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations, however, it will be to help raise funds for pandemic response, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said.

The firms will be closed even in areas that will shift to the "new normal" or the general community quarantine (GCQ) on May 1, Roque said. Metro Manila and other high risk areas are under enhanced community quarantine, a notch higher than GCQ.

"Ang POGOs under GCQ guidelines ay mananatiling sarado. Gayunpaman, kung ang desisyon ay pabuksan 'yan, ang tanging basehan lang po ay simple, kinakailangan natin ng pondo para magastos sa pangangailangan ng ating mga kababayan. Yun lang po yan. Simple mathematics," Roque said during a virtual press briefing.

(POGOs under GCQ guidelines will remain closed. However, if there is a decision to reopen them, it will be because of the need for funds. Simple mathematics.)

The government has so far spent P352 billion out of the P397 billion fund to respond to the pandemic, Roque said.

"Patuloy pa rin pong nangangailangan ang ating mga kababayan. Hindi naman pupwedeng mag-magic ang Presidente at lalabas ay pera na pupwedeng gagastusin," Roque said.

(Our countrymen still need help. The President can't magically produce money that can be spent.)

Roque made the remark after Vice President Leni Robredo questioned calls to re-open POGOs before while many Filipino businesses remain closed during the pandemic.

• Robredo: Why re-open POGOs before Filipino businesses?

"Parang panget na mensahe na sila pa ang uunahing payagang bumukas kaysa sa mga negosyo na nag-e-employ ng mga Pilipino," Robredo said in a CNN Philippines interview.

(It might be an ugly message for them to open before businesses that employ Filipinos.)

The Palace spokesman previously said POGOs are a source of revenues for the government.

• POGO industry source of cash for gov't, Palace says on calls for resumption of ops

POGOs are mostly run by Chinese operators with a workforce largely coming from China, where the new coronavirus disease is believed to have originated.

The industry has been plagued with accusations of crimes, including bribery for the entry of Chinese workers, trafficking, prostitution, money laundering, and tax violations, among others.

Last month, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) barred skeletal workforces at POGO sites as a precautionary measure against the spread of COVID-19.