20,000 POGO workers given 60 days to leave Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — The estimated 20,000 foreign workers of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO) and Internet Gaming Licensees (IGL) have 60 days or until Sept. 24 to leave the country, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced yesterday.

BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco issued the order in compliance with the directive of President Marcos to ban all POGO hubs in the country because their operations have ventured into illegal activities such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, torture and murder.

The order would take effect on July 26, BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said.

The 20,000 POGO and IGL workers computation was from the premise that there are more than 40 companies that hired between 300 to 500 employees.

The BI chief said the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. has provided a list of foreigners working in POGOs and IGLs and that roughly 70 percent of these may be Chinese nationals.

Tansingco also said that pending and new applications for visas for POGO and IGL workers will be denied by the bureau.

He warned that violators will be subjected to deportation proceedings, and stated that he has instructed their intelligence division and Fugitive Search Unit to intensify arrests against violators and illegal online gaming hubs.

The BI also appealed for local government units to cooperate and determine if there are backyard gambling activities in their jurisdiction.

The BI had been working with various government agencies such as the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the National Bureau of Investigation in going after these foreigners engaged in criminal activities.

The agency has deported more than 2,300 workers in scam hubs operating in the guise of gaming companies in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, displaced Filipino POGO workers may get unemployment insurance aside from other assistance benefits from their employers, Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said.

“We are looking at how we can assist them with regard to the possible benefits that their employers should give them and if they can be qualified to receive unemployment insurance from SSS (Social Security System),” he said.

Laguesma noted that the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has already started the profiling of workers to be affected by the impending closure of POGOs in the country.

He said profiling is being undertaken to enable DOLE to identify the skills of the affected workers and determine the appropriate intervention to be provided to them.

The majority of the affected workers are from Metro Manila. There are also POGOs operating in Laguna, Cavite and Central Luzon.

Laguesma said DOLE intends to hold a job fair purposely for the affected POGO workers.

Affected POGO workers may also avail themselves of upskilling and retraining as well as livelihood assistance from DOLE, he said. – Mayen Jaymalin