Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla yesterday called on former foreign workers of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGOs) facilities who continue to illegally stay in the country to surrender to authorities or face the full force of the law.
Data from the Bureau of Immigration show that there are roughly 11,000 foreign POGO workers, mostly Chinese and Vietnamese nationals, who defied Malacanang’s December 31, 2024 deadline for them to voluntarily leave the country.
The number is comprised of foreign workers who failed to downgrade their visas or voluntarily leave the Philippines, and those who downgraded their visas but failed to leave the country within the prescribed period given by authorities.
“The President is unequivocally clear that POGOs have no place here in the Philippines and we vow to give our all-out support for the sake and welfare of the Filipino people,” Remulla said.
“This administration stands firm in its resolve to intensifying its guerilla operations against non-compliant POGOs,” he added.
Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado has earlier said the bureau is conducting extensive manhunt operations against the remaining POGO foreign workers in the country, whom he said are now considered as illegal aliens.
Remulla said the foreign workers will face permanent blacklisting and will be prohibited from reentering the country.
The BI said 22,609 POGO foreign workers complied with Malacanang’s directive and left the country before the December 31 deadline.
THIRD-PARTY AUDIT
Meanwhile, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian yesterday pushed for the approval of his proposed Senate Bill No. 2868, or the proposed Anti-POGO Act of 2024, which he said has a provision that would allow the conduct of a third-party audit on local corporations providing support services to offshore gaming companies based abroad.
SB 2868 likewise authorizes a third-party audit on Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) centers to make sure that they do not directly engage in POGO-like activities.
Gatchalian made the pitch after the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) said that while companies operating within its jurisdiction provide support services to offshore gaming industry companies operating outside of the Philippines, they are not involved in POGO-like activities, such as the collection of online bets.
Gatchalian said he has talked with CEZA officials who confirmed that they give out permits to foreign companies who tap local firms for support services.
“To my understanding of their activities in CEZA, they are not POGO per se. When we say POGO, these are the entities, organizations which are granted licenses in the Philippines, but they collect bets outside of the country. So, that is POGO in simple terms. Now, CEZA gives licenses to these companies, but they (CEZA) do not receive bets, since the bets are received outside of the country. So, the companies in CEZA are like BPOs which provide services to those companies abroad. Meaning, betting does not occur here in the Philippines,” Gatchalian said in Filipino in an interview with radio dzBB on Sunday.
He said that companies providing support services to offshore gaming industries based abroad are not covered by the POGO ban as directed by President Marcos Jr.
He said the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) and special economic zones have assured that companies operating in special economic zones have a “system” or technology that can block or prevent local companies from receiving bets.
When asked what will be the assurance that special economic zones companies really abide by the law, Gatchalian said that as of now there is no way to determine that, which he said is the reason why a third-party audit should be in place to determine if local corporations really do not accept bets.
He said the third-party audit is contained in proposed SB 2868.
“That is one of the provisions of the law which we are now deliberating on, which includes the audit of these corporations. It is good that they reportedly have the technology to block them from receiving bets, but it is better if an audit is conducted to determine if it is true or not,” he said.
Gatchalian sponsored the committee report on SB 2868 early December, which seeks a total ban on POGOs beyond the Marcos administration.
He said he hopes that the proposed measure will be passed by Congress and signed into law by the President before the 19th Congress ends on July 27, otherwise, they might ask Marcos to certify the urgent passage of the bill.
