Dole to help find IT, BPO jobs for displaced Pogo workers

Inquirer file photo

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) on Tuesday said it would roll out emergency and reemployment assistance to workers who will be affected by the total ban announced by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos).

The year-end deadline given by Marcos to close all Pogos will provide Dole with a “window” to prepare and implement its “interventions,” Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said in an interview on dwFM.

Laguesma said Dole’s emergency employment, skills upgrade and retooling, training and employment facilitation programs will be based on the “profiling” to be conducted for Filipino workers directly employed by Pogos.

READ: Marcos bans Pogo, cites ‘disorder’ it caused PH

The secretary said that of the 79 “registered Pogos” in Metro Manila, 28 have so far submitted the names of their employees.

Different count

Based on the initial profiling conducted on about 10,000 employees from the 28 Pogos, they could find new jobs in information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, he added.

It was not immediately clear why Dole’s count of registered Metro Manila Pogos differed from that given by the chair of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), who on Tuesday said there were only 43 legal Pogos remaining.

Asked if Pogos and internet game licensees (IGL) are one and the same, Laguesma said that “based on my understanding” of Marcos’ pronouncements, the two terms are the same since Pagcor had merely “rebranded” Pogos as IGLs.

In a separate interview on dzBB, Laguesma said many Pogo employees have encoding skills which are in demand in the IT sector, and that those with administrative and finance skills may also find jobs in other companies.