Bongbong Marcos urged: Reject ‘elitist, anti-poor’ calls to phase out Pogos

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — A group of Filipino workers in the online gaming industry is urging President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to reject calls to shut down Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogos).

Pinoy sa Pogo made the appeal on Wednesday after several business groups backed the bid to completely shut down the Pogo industry as they claimed that “the social and reputational costs of the government sponsorship of operations that are globally frowned upon far outweigh any economic benefits.”

The group called the traders’ claims “misleading and discriminatory statements, dismissing the significant economic contributions of legitimate Pogos and service providers that pay proper taxes and license fees to government.”

READ: Major business groups back POGO phaseout

Pinoy sa Pogo also urged the President to consider the consequences of a possible Pogo phaseout thoroughly.

According to the group, organizations advocating for a complete Pogo ban are “elitists and anti-poor.”

“May maayos na trabaho po kami, mahal na Pangulo. Huwag niyo po sanang hayaan ang malalaking grupo ng negosyante na sirain ang aming kabuhayan at pamilya ngayong papalapit na ang Pasko,” Karen Santa Cruz, a Pinoy sa Pogo officer, said in a statement.

(We have well-paying jobs, Mr. President. We ask for your help not to allow big business groups to take away our jobs and ruin the future of our families, especially now that Christmas is just around the corner.)

“Aside from the illegal practice of ‘endo’, many elitist members of these business groups don’t even pay their workers and household staff decent salaries and benefits. Yet, they want to take away regular, well-paying jobs [for] Pogo workers. If we’re jobless, will they support our families?” added Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz noted that these business organizations have “never experienced hunger or lack of money to send their children to school, so they don’t care about us.”

She further contended that significant job losses are the true price of Pogo shutdowns.

“The worst insult is to deprive us of dignity and cause family separation when we are again forced to seek work abroad,” Santa Cruz said.

The group likewise condemned business organizations and even some lawmakers for what it saw as applying double standards to handling the online gaming industry.

“Their hearts bleed for Chinese mainlanders who gamble in Pogos but are strangely silent with regards the proliferation of local text and online gaming scams that lure Filipinos, including the youth, to gamble,” it noted.

Debates on the scrapping of Pogos have recently resurfaced following the rescue of illegal offshore gaming workers.

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/MUF/abc