Lawmakers warn: Pogo reopening a health risk

A key congressional ally of President Duterte and several other lawmakers are strongly opposing the resumption of work, even on a limited scale, at Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) companies, saying it will pose serious health risks to the public while the country is still battling the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) and presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Friday separately announced that Pogos, which they classified as business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, would resume operation but with only 30 percent of their staff and under “stringent conditions.”

Pogos, which cater mostly to online gamblers in China, were shut down after the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) was imposed on Luzon in mid-March to contain the contagion.

In a statement, Pagcor chief Andrea Domingo said the suspension of Pogo operations deprived the government of P600 million in monthly earnings, money that could help augment funds to combat COVID-19.

In a rare break with the Duterte administration, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Friday said he was morally opposed to Pogos and that the green light given to them indicated “favoritism” for the gaming business.

“I’m the best and worst person to ask because whether there’s ECQ or not, I’m against Pogos,” the Taguig lawmaker said in an interview with CNN Philippines.

“I don’t believe in gaming or gambling. I think that the damage to morality, to society, etc., is worse in that,” he added.

Cayetano said he saw no reason to have a policy for Pogos that was different from other industries.

“There should not be any favoritism, and everyone should be subject to the same rules of requiring housing for employees, and social distancing should be followed,” he said.

Roque said all earnings from Pogos would be “allocated 100 percent” for the government’s COVID-19-related expenses.

“I think Pogos fall under the definition of BPOs since there is no gambling that happens in Pogos here. The gambling takes place outside of the Philippines. What we have here are the computers, software,” he said.

But according to Roque earlier this week, Pogos are classified under “gaming,” which are prohibited in areas under either ECQ or the less strict general community quarantine.

Domingo’s proposal last March to allow work-from-home arrangements for Pogos was not acted upon by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).

It was unclear whether the IATF-EID, which is in charge of the government’s anti-COVID-19 response, had specifically approved the reopening of Pogos.

Pagcor requirement

Prior to resuming their operation, Pagcor is requiring Pogos and their service providers to strictly adhere to all of Pagcor’s regulations, including updating and settlement of all their tax liabilities; paying all regulatory and license fees, performance bond or penalties; remitting of regulatory fees for the month of April; and readiness to implement safety protocols.

Domingo said Pogos must improve their safety measures to ensure that their employees were protected from the virus and to avoid its spread in their communities.

She said only 30 percent of Pogo staff was authorized to work per shift and they must first test negative for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the severe respiratory disease, by a testing center accredited by the Food and Drug Administration.

Pagcor also ordered the companies to provide transportation for their employees from their residences to their offices and back. Workers must be checked for fever upon entry into the office premises. The gaming regulator required social distancing, proper sanitation and disinfection, and wearing of mask at all times.

Employees who are either confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases will not be allowed to work, and vulnerable groups, including the sick, immunocompromised, seniors, pregnant women and those with comorbidities, will not be deployed, it said.

An isolation room must be established for employees who may start to exhibit symptoms of the virus, Pagcor said.

Where’s the logic?

“I don’t see any logic in opening up [Pogos],” Sen. Joel Villanueva said in an online press briefing.

“The government is taking a big risk in [doing this] because the risk of transmission [of the new coronavirus] is very high when you’re inside a small room or condominium unit where Pogos usually operate,” he said.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said it was difficult to trust Pogos to comply with the government’s health protocols “if they don’t adhere to our tax laws, our immigration laws [and] our criminal laws.”

“Reopening Pogos will unduly expose our Filipino workers to infection from the virus,” Gatchalian said. “Let’s focus our energies in eliminating the spread of the virus rather than fighting fires the Pogos will eventually create.”

The estimated P7 billion annual projected income from Pogos is dwarfed by P2.5 trillion in income losses of the country due to COVID-19, he said.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros said the government’s decision only “undermines our efforts to contain the coronavirus and opens the country to the other problems that Pogos bring.”

“It’s a risk for public health and safety,” she said on Twitter.

Rigorous assessment

The government should have conducted a rigorous assessment of the “risks and benefits that come with this latest move,” according to Sen. Sonny Angara, a COVID-19 survivor.

He noted that the dormitory-type quarters of Pogo workers were the same as the impoverished residential areas in Singapore where most of the COVID-19 infections were reported.

“There must be strict monitoring by the DOH (Department of Health) and the local government units of the health risks as I don’t expect Pagcor to be equipped to do the checking,” Angara told the Inquirer in a Viber message.

House Minority Leader Bienvenido Abante Jr. said the move was “premature and unwise given our experience with this industry.”

He noted the many requirements set by Pagcor, including settling tax deliquency, for reopening. But “how can we rely on them to fulfill these conditions when there is abundant evidence that these Pogos operators have no qualms about circumventing our laws?” he said.

“Allowing these Pogos to operate despite all these issues is akin to rewarding bad behavior,” he said.

Pagcor data in March showed that 60 licensed Pogo companies employed a total of 120,976 workers. It said that 69,613, or 58 percent, were Chinese, and 30,521, or 25 percent, were Filipinos. The rest include Vietnamese, Indonesians, Taiwanese, Malaysians and nationals from 44 other countries.

Pagcor is the third largest revenue generating agency of the Philippine government after the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs.

Mayor Edwin Olivarez of Parañaque City, where the police recently busted an illegal Pogo outfit, said he also opposed the resumption of Pogo operations.

“In so far as the city is concerned, our utmost consideration is for the protection of the people,” he said in a phone interview.

Olivarez said the city was amenable to reopening Pogos only if the COVID-19 situation was under control.

But he added: “At the end of the day, we will follow the dictates of the national leadership. If their policy is to go on, and if it will help the economy … we will follow.”

Olivarez earlier urged the Bureau of Immigration to deport 44 Chinese arrested along with nine Filipinos in the raid of on a illegal Pogo.

Police seized firearms, cash and computers during the April 24 raid.

The nine Filipinos and 44 Chinese were all charged with violation of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act and with disobedience of persons in authority.

Five of the Filipinos were also charged with illegal possession of firearms. —WITH REPORTS FROM JULIE M. AURELIO, DAXIM L. LUCAS, JODEE A. AGONCILLO, NIKKA G. VALENZUELA AND INQUIRER RESEARCH INQ