China frets over planned transfer of POGO workers to ‘self-contained’ hubs

MANILA, Philippines – The Chinese Embassy in Manila has expressed grave concern over the possibility that Chinese workers and Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGOs) will be moved to self-contained communities and hubs,  which may “infringe on the basic legal rights of the Chinese citizens concerned.”

READ: Cavite, Clark to host mega ‘Pogo’ hubs 

In a statement on Thursday, the Chinese Embassy said it has “taken note of recent remarks by Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) Vice President Jose Tria that Chinese nationals and POGO industry working in Philippine will be transferred to self-contained communities or hubs.”

“The Chinese Embassy expresses its grave concern over such potential move by Pagcor, which may infringe on the basic legal rights of the Chinese citizens concerned, and strongly urges the Philippine government to effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens in the Philippines,” the statement read.

In a recent televised interview with ONE News, Tria said that Chinese nationals working in the POGO industry would be transferred to “self-contained communities.”

This due to concerns over their supposed disorderly behavior.

“In fact that is the reason why we came up with these POGO hubs.  This will be self-contained communities, na iiwas na natin ‘yong interaction between the Filipinos and the foreign workers,” Tria said during the interview which was uploaded on ONE News’ Youtube channel on Wednesday.

“As soon as…the private participation is able to set up these hubs, then we will be canceling their authority to operate outside these hubs, ipapasok na lang namin sila doon, para easier to monitor,” he further said.

This developed following widespread concern over the influx of illegal Chinese workers in the Philippines, mostly working in the POGO industry.

The Chinese Embassy, however, said that Chinese citizens have always been required to abide by local laws and regulations and not to work illegally in the foreign countries they are staying in.

“The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines has repeatedly issued consular reminders in this regard, and has, on many occasions, clearly stated the position to relevant departments of the Philippines.” /gsg