Filipino POGO employee, service provider appeal proposed ban before House panel

A Filipino employee and a representative of service providers for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations on Wednesday opposed before a House committee the plan to ban POGOs in the country.

According to Tina Panganiban-Perez's report on "24 Oras", POGO encoder Jacqueline Adap said she was able to help her family because of her work at one of the offshore gaming firms.

She said she was able to build a home for her family while paying for a sibling's education.

"Sana naman po open-minded po kayo na wag-isara kasi marami pong natutulungan si POGO," Adap told the House Committee on Labor on Employment which held a hearing on POGOs on Wednesday.

According to the Department of Labor and Employment, there are 19,726 Filipinos working at POGOs.

There are 20,016 foreigners working for them.

The Association of Service Providers and POGOs said the licensed POGOs contributed P62 billion to the country over the past six years.

"If the industry will go back to its pre-pandemic contribution. We will be able to help not only our economy but more importantly our Filipino workers," ASPAP's representative said.

If POGOs are stopped, the National Economic Development Authority said the country could lose as much as P104.5 billion, the industry's contribution to the economy in 2019.

NEDA Assistant Secretary Sarah Lynne Daway Ducanes, however, warned of the country losing Chinese tourists and their contributions to the Philippines' grodd domestic product.

"Maintaining POGO operations places the country at risk in China's blacklist, thereby losing Chinese tourists and their contribution to GDP," Ducanes said.

Albay Representative Joey Salceda said POGOs would not have any effect on the arrival of Chinese tourists.

"Talaga namang walang turistang pinapalabas sa China dahil sa zero-covid policy nila," Salceda said. —Sherylin Untalan/NB, GMA News