The Department of Finance (DoF) will support the planned privatization of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) which is being criticized for being a source of corruption in the past.

“If the president said it, I would certainly support it,” Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima told reporters in an interview.

Earlier, President Aquino said that he is open to privatizing one of the key sources of government revenue, Pagcor.

But Aquino added that he would have to evaluate its record first.

“We're reviewing that right now. I've asked for a listing from all the departments of assets that they have then we'll review it and determine the priority of privatization,” Purisima said.

Pagcor is the regulator of casino gaming in the country.

Data from the Bureau of Treasury showed Pagcor has remitted P1.6 billion to the national government coffers in the first two months of the year.

In February, Pagcor remitted P815 million, higher by 3 percent compared with the P792 million in the previous month.

Under the law, Pagcor is required to remit 5 percent of its net winnings to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) as franchise tax, and 50 percent of the 95 percent balance goes to the treasury bureau.

The Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) earlier lowered the government's expected revenue from asset-sales from P30 billion to only P2 billion.

The inter-agency, which is a body tasked to set the country's macroeconomic targets, decided to lower the target after it excluded the planned sale of government's 10 percent shareholding in the Malampaya natural gas venture.