23,000 Filipinos to get jobs should Pogos be banned — Gatchalian

PHASING OUT THE POGO INDUSTRY: Sen. Win Gatchalian, chairperson of the Committee on Ways and Means, leads the third hybrid hearing on the three Senate resolutions seeking to probe the impact of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) industry in the country, Wednesday, November 23, 2022. (Voltaire F. Domingo/Senate PRIB)

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday said the 23,000 Filipinos who will be displaced should the government ban Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogos) will be given employment.

READ: 23,000 Filipinos to lose jobs once POGOs leave, group warns

“Hindi natin papabayaan ang 23,000 na kababayan natin na nagtatrabaho sa Pogo (we will not neglect the 23,000 of our countrymen who work at Pogo),” assured Gatchalian in an interview over Super Radyo dzBB.

According to the senator, who also heads the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, many of these Filipinos are information technology (IT) experts which makes it easier for them to transition into the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

“Pero ganun pa man sisiguraduhin natin na hindi sila mawawalan ng trabaho (we will make sure that they do not lose their jobs),” he added.

The Senate Committee on Ways and Means is currently conducting an inquiry into Pogos to determine if their operations be discontinued or whether or not it is possible for Pogos to operate crime-free in the country, following a string of Pogo-related kidnappings, and to look into the economic side of the Pogo industry.

Gatchalian added that with only 23,000 Filipinos working in the Pogo industry, majority of the 200,000 total Pogo industry manpower is composed of foreign nationals.

This, he said, proves that Filipinos do not necessarily gain from Pogos in terms of employment, and is the other way around as it provides more opportunities for foreign nationals.

“Pagdating sa trabaho di pabor sa atin, dahil ang binibigyan ng trabaho ibang nationality,” Gatchalian said.

(When it comes to work, it’s not in our favor, because the people who are given the job are of a different nationality.)

In the Senate committee’s third hearing on Pogos on Wednesday, it was found out that the third-party auditor of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) for Pogos does not even pay the right amount of taxes to the national government.

It was also found out that Pacgcor does not know the exact location of the said auditor — which does not even have a website.

It also came to light that the Pagcor itself has no way of knowing exactly where a player of an online Pogo game is placing  bets from.

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/MUF