FOREIGN POGO WORKERS GIVEN 60 DAYS TO LEAVE PHILIPPINES

BUREAU of Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that all foreign workers of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) and Internet Gaming Licensees (IGLs) will be required to leave the country in 60 days.

The move comes after the directive of President Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Romualdez Marcos Jr. to ban all POGOs during his third State of the Nation Address last July 22.

President Marcos said during his speech that the illegal activities related to POGOs must stop.

“Disguising as legitimate entities, their operations have ventured into illicit areas furthest from gaming such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, even murder,” he stated.

Tansingco said foreign nationals who worked with POGOs and IGLs, as well as its related service providers, will be given 60 days to wind down their affairs and leave the country.

He said that they are expecting around 20,000 foreign workers in the said industry to leave the country in the next two months.

Tansingco added that pending applications and new applications for visas for POGO and IGL workers will be denied by the BI.

The BI chief said that they have a list of foreigners working in POGOs and IGLs, which were acquired from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).

He warned that violators will be subjected to deportation proceedings, and stated that he has instructed their intelligence division and fugitive search unit to intensify arrests against violators and illegal online gaming hubs.

The agency has deported more than 2,300 workers in scam hubs operating in the guise of gaming companies in the Philippines.