The government has yet to determine the location of the more than 40,000 Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGOs) workers who are facing deportation, a Bureau of Immigration (BI) official said
In a Senate inquiry on Monday, BI Deputy Commissioner Fortunato Manahan Jr., chief of the Intelligence Division, answered in the affirmative when Senator Grace Poe asked if the bureau didn’t know where the potential deportees were, GMA News reported.
Manahan disclosed that the 40,000 facing deportation was based “on the assumption that for every company, assuming there’s 200 personnel.” The official further said the figure was also based on the canceled licenses of PAGCOR which was posted on the PAGCOR website. “A total of 214 companies. We were able to list 48,762,” Manahan, quoted by GMA News, said.
On Sunday, the BI said it was set to revoke 48,782 alien visas of Chinese nationals employed by POGOs with canceled licenses.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers on Tuesday urged the government to heed the call of his fellow legislators for the immediate cessation of POGO operations, saying the moral damage it inflicts to the Filipino society far outweighs the purported benefits being derived from the online gambling firms.
Barbers, chair of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, said it is also of public knowledge that in China, the home of POGO workers, online gaming or gambling in any form is banned or outlawed as their schemes also victimize their fellow nationals.
Barbers said there are at least 300,000 Chinese tourists who entered the country since 2016, and almost all of them ended up as POGO workers, some of whom are allegedly being ordered to do dirty works like online scamming like phishing, e-mail spoofing, extortion, and other forms of cybercrime.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) meanwhile reported that there have been no POGO related-crimes since September 15.
Responding to the questions by senators during the Senate Committee Ways and Means hearing on the economic costs and benefits of POGO operations, PNP officials guaranteed that the PNP has already taken positive steps to address incidents of POGO-related crimes.
Meanwhile, Sen. Risa Hontiveros sounded the alarm over reports that sexually transmitted diseases (STD) have been spreading among foreign workers of POGOs.
Justice Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano IV said they have received various reports concerning the spread of STD among POGO workers. The report also said there were 15 to 20 STD cases in just one company.