The Philippines’ Bureau of Immigration said on the weekend that around 3,000 foreign POGO workers have now left the country after having their visas downgraded. In total, 5,955 POGO worker visas have been downgraded, BI Officer-in-Charge Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado added, with around 55% of those having since departed.
The update was provided during a meeting of “Task Force POGO Closure”, comprising the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), gaming regulator PAGCOR, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission and the Bureau of Immigration.
“During the meeting, members agreed to conduct service days for POGO companies, where we will implement their downgraded visa status and issue exit clearances,” Viado said, adding that teams have been formed to visit POGO licensees and implement on-the-spot downgrading.
The departure of workers comes amid reports that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr will sign an executive order banning the offshore gaming industry imminently. President Marcos first announced the ban on Internet Gaming Licensees (IGLs) – more popularly known as POGOs (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators) – during his State of the Nation Address in July, promising to shut down all existing operations by 1 January 2025.
PAGCOR Offshore Gaming Licensing Department Assistant Vice President Jessa Mariz Fernandez stated earlier this month that the cancellation of work visas for POGO employees would be undertaken in batches.
“The removal of some parts of the operations internet gaming licensees can be done earlier. Initially, there will be a voluntary of downgrading of visas, then until a certain date they will actually cancel all visas,” Fernandez said.
“We are expecting that through that process, their operations will gradually decrease before 31 December 2024.”
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