Abante calls for probe on POGO operations

House Minority Leader Bienvenido "Benny" Abante Jr. is calling for a congressional investigation into the operations of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) industry in the country.

In House Resolution 337, Abante, CIBAC party-list Representative Bro. Eddie Villanueva, Muntinlupa City Representative Ruffy Biazon, and Manila Representative Manuel Luis Lopez urged the appropriate House committee to investigate allegations of unregistered foreign workers and non-payment of income taxes involving POGOs.

The investigation seeks to result in the amending of existing laws related to revenue collection from foreign workers and the regulation of the POGO industry.

It was earlier reported that the passports of Chinese workers who were hired by POGOs were confiscated and they were crammed in tiny bedrooms and were not allowed to take meal breaks longer than 30 minutes.

These Chinese workers were hired with the promise of work visa in the Philippines and salaries of up to 10,000 yuan or P70,000 a month.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Abante said there are also concerns as to where POGO hubs will be constructed.

"These hubs, according to the Department of National Defense, are located near strategic installations such as Camp Aguinaldo, the Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame, the Air Force headquarters in Pasay City, the Philippine Army headquarters in Taguig City, the Philippine Navy headquarters on Roxas Boulevard, and Sangley Point in Cavite," he said.

Abante is concerned that the establishment of these POGO hubs near military and police headquarters may pose a threat to national security.

"We are hopeful that after the budget deliberations, the House can tackle this and other pressing issues," he said.

Bayan Muna party-list Representatives Carlos Zarate, Ferdinand Gaite and Eufemia Cullamat have also earlier filed a resolution to investigate the proliferation of POGO hubs in the county.

According to them, the rise of POGOs in the country may cause tensions between Filipinos and Chinese workers as well as displacement of livelihood for the construction of POGO operations.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) has earlier proposed to transfer Chinese online gaming workers in self-contained communities or hubs.

This proposal, however, did not sit well with the Chinese embassy, as this "may infringe on the basic legal rights of the Chinese citizens concerned."

PAGCOR chairperson Andrea Domingo, in response, said the Chinese POGO workers will be transferred to these hubs for their own good. — RSJ, GMA News