INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
The country’s largest employers’ group is calling on the government to gradually phase out the controversial Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos), citing the potential ripple effects to other industries apart from the loss of around 40,000 jobs from the multi-billion-peso sector.
Employers Confederation of the Philippines (Ecop) president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said that a gradual instead of an abrupt ban should help cushion the impact of the exit, especially on employment.
READ: BIZ BUZZ: Pogos: Nowhere to go but out
“The government should start with eliminating the illegal ones. If we can do the same with casinos and regulate them, then we can do it for Pogos, too,” Ortiz-Luis said in a recent interview with the Inquirer.
The Ecop official said that aside from the some 40,000 currently working in Pogos, more are employed in allied industries and those servicing the Pogo sector, including the food and transportation sectors.
In July, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry made a similar call on the government to implement the ban in phases, to give more time for the economy to adjust to the Pogos’ departure.
Sona
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had said during his State of the Nation Address on July 22, however, that he wanted Pogos shut down by the end of the year.
According to 2022 figures from the Association of Service Providers and Pogos, their industry employs a total of 23,118 Filipinos, 11,766 of whom are direct hires and 11,342 indirect ones.
This is on top of the 17,130 foreign nationals that are also employed in the gaming sector.
READ: BIZ BUZZ: From Pogo to polo
Pogos have paid P18 billion in government fees to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) from 2016 to 2019.
This number has since dropped to P7 billion and fell further to P5 billion by 2023.
More than 46 operators are registered with the government according to Pagcor’s records, with the state gaming regulator estimating that 250 to 300 are still operating in the country without a license. INQ