JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla yesterday said the government is ready to deport an initial batch of 280 illegal workers of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).
“We are ready to deport, I think, 280 people by now. Meron na kaming in custody. We are scheduled to catch more people,” Remulla told radio DZBB.
The number includes the more than 130 illegal POGO workers arrested in separate operations in Pasig City and Angeles City in Pampanga last week. They are currently detained at the Bureau of Immigration detention facility in Bicutan, Taguig City.
Remulla said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is just fine tuning the protocols and details for the deportation.
Remulla said deportation is the best way to address the presence of illegal POGO workers since filing cases against them is also untenable. He said the government cannot deport the workers if they have pending cases in local courts.
“The logical thing is for summary deportation to take place because we don’t want to be keeping such a huge number of people in a makeshift jail,” he said.
Remulla has earlier told senators there are 216 previously licensed POGOs which have stopped paying their dues to the government.
These companies, he said, employed around 40,000 individuals, but Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said the number could be as high as 100,000 due to discrepancies in the records of the BI and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor).
Remulla said they have kept tabs of the whereabouts of the illegal POGO workers. “We know where they all are, we know where the offices are, so it’s just a matter of time before we resolve everything here,” he said.
Remulla, however, said the government is in a dilemma because it does not have the capability to house such a huge number of people.
MEETING
Remulla made the announcement on the eve of his scheduled meeting today with Chinese Ambassador to Manila Huang Xilian to discuss the mass deportation of the 40,000 undocumented and overstaying Chinese POGO workers.
DOJ Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano said the meeting will be held at the DOJ main office in Manila.
“He (Remulla) will meet with the Chinese Ambassador tomorrow afternoon (Thursday) to speak about the cancelled POGO companies as listed by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation,” Clavano said in a message to reporters.
“There are 175 cancelled POGO companies with varying number of employees each. We are expecting around 40,000 total Chinese nationals to be brought back to China. There must be a coordinated effort between the two countries to bring them back to China given that they have no more basis to stay here in the Philippines,” he said.
But in a statement released late Wednesday afternoon, the Chinese Embassy said Huang has already “exchanged views” with Remulla earlier yesterday on”‚stepping up”‚law enforcement cooperation between China and the Philippines and jointly cracking down on POGO-related crimes.
“Ambassador Huang said that the Chinese government firmly opposes and takes tough measures to combat”‚gambling. According to the Chinese laws and regulations, gambling in whatever form by Chinese citizens, be it online”‚gambling”‚or gambling overseas is illegal,” the embassy said.
The embassy also said it has kept close communication and coordination with”‚the Philippine side even before the current issue broke out.
“Crimes induced by and associated with online gambling not only harm China’s interests and China-Philippines relations, but also hurt the interests of the Philippines. The Chinese government”‚protects the legitimate rights and interests of overseas Chinese citizens in accordance with the law”‚anywhere at any time,” the embassy said, adding that China stands ready to step up”‚law enforcement cooperation with the Philippines to ensure the safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens in the country.
“The Chinese side welcomes the Philippine side to take strong measures to crack down on crimes related to POGOs and tackle”‚its root cause”‚so as to address the social ills in a sweeping manner,” the embassy also said.
Asked as to the embassy’s statement, Clavano insisted that the meeting between Remulla and Huang will only take place today.
“No meeting was held today at DOJ. It’s scheduled for tomorrow,” Clavano stressed.
ASSESSMENT OF POGOS
Sen. Grace Poe has filed a resolution highlighting the need to evaluate the existence of POGOs and review its social costs, which she said outweigh the economic gains from its operations.
In filing Senate Resolution 229, Poe said it is important “to evaluate the existence of POGOs in the country considering the deleterious effects to public safety and order in contrast with the supposed economic gains from their operations in the country.”
Poe filed the resolution after the PNP blamed illegal POGOs for the recent spate of kidnappings, gruesome killings of Chinese nationals in the country and other forms of illegal activities such as money laundering, and illegal immigration and employment.
The PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group has said that 15 of 29 kidnapping cases recorded from January to the first week of September this year showed they were POGO-related.
“The PNP cited that the increase in kidnapping incidents in 2022 particularly POGO-related is due to the high demand of companies for Mandarin-speaking workers, high referral fees and vulnerability of victims… According to the PNP’s CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group), the Philippines became a cradle for Chinese gangsters after Vietnam and Cambodia banned Chinese-backed online gaming and overseas casinos,” Poe said in the resolution filed last Tuesday.
She said the social risks of POGO operations “outweigh its reported financial benefits” based on available data from the Department of Finance which showed that revenues derived from its operations have declined — from a revenue collection of P3.9 billion in 2021 from P7.18 billion in 2020.
“Moreover, the Pagcor (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation) reports that income generated from POGOs decreased steadily due to the pandemic —from P6 billion in 2018, P5 billion in 2019, P2 billion in 2021, and P1 billion in the first half of 2022,” she said.
She said that POGOs do not offer much employment to Filipinos since only one out of four POGO employees are Filipinos.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian wants an inquiry to determine the pros and cons of having POGOs.
“The government allowed POGOs in the country precisely for the purpose of generating additional revenue. If we were not able to realize this, then we must have a careful review of POGO operations to determine whether they should remain in the country,” Gatchalian said.
Citing reports from former Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, Gatchalian said projected government earnings from POGO operations for 2022 to 2023 could reach P76.2 billion but recent data show it is not “likely to even hover near this amount as revenue collection in the first quarter reached only P1.55 billion.”
He said the crimes related to POGO operations is also a factor that should be considered for its continued existence.
“Clearly, any economic benefit that we derive from POGO operations should substantially outweigh any social cost that we must bear in exchange for their presence in the country,” Gatchalian said, referring to the reported rise in criminality attributed to POGOs.
Sen. Ramon Revilla expressed a different opinion saying issues on POGOs are mostly crime related, adding that only the companies that do not comply with existing laws should be shut down.
“I don’t believe that shutting down the entire Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) industry is the solution we need in addressing the issues plaguing its operations which are mostly law enforcement concerns,” Revilla said.
He said the income to be derived from POGO operations should be considered for them to continue operations.
“The Department of Finance (DOF) projects the POGO industry to generate 50 billion to 70 billion pesos in tax revenues in 2022 to 2023 after new taxes mandated by Republic Act No. 11590 took (takes) effect this next year,” he pointed out.
He said law enforcement agencies should instead run after POGO workers who break the law so those who are obeying it can be spared. — With Raymond Africa
