Senators Assure Special Class BPO Employees of Job Security Amid POGO Ban

Senator Mark Villar has reassured employees of Special Class Business Process Outsourcing (SCBPOs) that their jobs will not be affected by the impending ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs). The ban, declared by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in July, is set to take effect by the end of 2024.

On September 13, 2024, Senator Villar, Chair of the Senate Committee on Games and Amusement, along with Senator Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian, inspected two SCBPOs in Aseana, Parañaque. Villar emphasized that SCBPOs differ significantly from POGOs, which are slated for closure.

“Ginagawa po natin ang inspection na ito upang makita ang operations ng mga SCBPO at maintindihan kung ano ang kaibahan nila sa mga POGO na ipapasara natin bago matapos ang taon na ito,” Villar was quoted as saying in a report published by the PNA. (We are doing this inspection to see the operations of SCBPOs and understand how they differ from the POGOs which will be closed after this year.)

Villar assured that SCBPOs are not involved in betting activities and operate under different guidelines. “Sa mga susunod na hearings sa Senado, makakaasa ang ating SCBPO workers na hindi sila makakasama sa mga ipapasara bago matapos ang taon. Hindi po mawawalan ng trabaho ang ating mga kababayan,” he added. (In the next Senate hearings, SCBPOs can rest assured that they will not be part of the closures before the year ends. Our countrymen will not lose their jobs.)

According to Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), SCBPOs employ over 4,900 Filipino workers and 137 foreign nationals.

“Dito po sa SCBPOs, 95 percent po nito, requirement po ng guidelines ng PAGCOR kailangan po ay Filipino workers. So, yun po ang malaking pagkakaiba ng POGO dito sa SCBPO,” said PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco. (Here in the SCBPOs, 95 percent of them, as required by the PAGCOR guidelines, must be Filipino workers. So, that’s the big difference between POGO and SCBPO.)

If all SCBPOs under investment promotion agencies are included, the total number of Filipino workers employed rises to 10,000. Tengco also clarified that SCBPOs are service providers for land-based gaming entities abroad and do not handle bets.

Meanwhile, Gatchalian called for a holistic approach to effectively implement the President’s directive. He stressed that the focus should extend beyond PAGCOR-licensed entities, highlighting around 200 illegal POGO hubs currently operating in the country, as estimated by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission.

Gatchalian emphasized the need for law enforcement to target these illegal POGOs to ensure their complete elimination. He also called for improved coordination between the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and PAGCOR to address discrepancies in gross gaming revenue (GGR) reports, noting past deficiencies in tax collections.

“The GGR is the basis of payments to both PAGCOR and BIR, but PAGCOR, as the regulator, has a mechanism to verify the actual GGR. However, the declarations to the BIR are often undervalued,” he said. “Kung may utang at umalis na sila, paano pa natin mahahabol,” he added. (If they have loans and have already left, how we can run after them?)

Additionally, Gatchalian flagged discrepancies between the number of alien employment certificates (AEPs) issued by the Bureau of Immigration and work permits issued by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). PAGCOR reported 26,431 foreign workers in the POGO industry as of July, while DOLE reported issuing only 15,819 AEPs this year.

Read related article: PAGCOR Exposes Disinformation Campaign on POGO Termination