Foreigners who have been working for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) have been given until October 15 to leave the country of their own volition or be repatriated, in line with the Presidential directive to eliminate POGOs everywhere in the country by the year’s end.
The Task Force POGO Closure, comprised of the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), and the Bureau of Immigration (BI), concurred on the move, pursuant to President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s proclamation during his third State of the Nation Address (SONA), outlawing POGOs.
“Consequently, starting on October 16, 2024, all 9G visas of affected foreign POGO workers would be downgraded to tourist visas and they would have to leave the Philippines within 60 days or face involuntary repatriation,” the DOJ said in a news release.
The Task Force seeks to devise simplified guidelines to ensure a total ban on POGOs nationwide, without compromising workers’ welfare.
Alejandro Tengco, the PAGCOR Chair, expects it would be especially difficult to rid the country of POGOs beginning the 2025 as these will “try to employ dirty tactics to hide their illegal business.”
“The harm and danger fueled by illegal POGO activities have undeniably placed public safety and national security at risk for quite some time and justice will never take these matters sitting down,” Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said. “With the President's guidance, we can now unleash the full consequences of the law against these undesirable elements of society.”
The 41 licensed POGOs have promised to comply and conclude operations.
