Employers who knowingly hire undocumented foreign workers could be fined up to P200,000 when House Bill 1279 gets approved.
Starting January 1, 2025, Philippine authorities will be actively searching foreign offshore gaming workers who were unaccounted for when it set a deadline on the industry’s shutdown this 2024.
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) will be conducting a manhunt for the remaining workers–estimated to be less than a thousand–who failed to comply with the government’s directive to cease operations, the Manila Standard reported.
Approximately 30,000 foreign POGO workers have already left the country, with more departures expected in the coming days, revealed BI Commissioner Joel Viado. With only 12 days remaining until the deadline, Viado urged foreign nationals to comply with the government’s mandate.
As of November 2024, some 21,757 foreign nationals linked to POGO operations have voluntarily downgraded their work visas to temporary visitor visas, facilitating their departure.
“Those who fail to leave before the deadline will be subjected to deportation proceedings and will be blacklisted,” Viado was quoted as saying in a Manila Standard report. This blacklist will prevent these individuals from re-entering the Philippines in the future.
Recently, 34 individuals were deported to Xiamen, China via a Philippine Airlines flight. These deportees were previously arrested at various POGO locations, including Royal Corporation Xisheng IT, Lucky South 99 Outsourcing, and Royal Park, for violating immigration laws.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier ordered law enforcement agencies to conduct more frequent raids on POGOs, as these establishments leaned more into guerilla operations. Authorities claimed these clandestine operations were found in residential areas, hotels, and resorts.
Marcos Jr. in his State of the Nation address this July 2024 announced a ban on POGOs, formalizing it through an executive order a few months later.
House Bill 1279 Proposes Tougher Penalties
Rep. Brian Yamsuan of the Bicol Saro party-list group has called on lawmakers to approve a proposed bill that seeks to impose tougher penalties, including up to six years of imprisonment, on illegal foreign workers. The measure aims to curb their involvement in illicit activities and ensure jobs intended for Filipinos are not taken by undocumented workers.
Yamsuan's appeal comes in light of reports confirming the presence of Chinese nationals illegally employed at mining sites in Eastern Samar and Camarines Norte.
The proposed legislation, House Bill (HB) 1279, also seeks to discourage the proliferation of unlicensed Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), often referred to as “guerilla” POGOs, according to Yamsuan.
In addition to jail sentences, HB 1279 proposes significantly raising the fines for foreigners caught working illegally in the Philippines—from the current P10,000 to P50,000 for every year, or fraction thereof, of illegal employment. Employers who knowingly hire undocumented foreign workers could face fines of up to P200,000 and risk the suspension or closure of their businesses.
Yamsuan emphasized that while the illegal mining activities uncovered in Paracale, Camarines Norte, and Homonhon Island in Eastern Samar are currently categorized as “small-scale,” the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has expressed concerns about the broader issue of illegal foreign workers in mining sites nationwide.
In October, the DENR discovered an illegal mining operation in Paracale, where 11 Chinese nationals posing as tourists were arrested. Additionally, the BI reported last month the apprehension of 13 Chinese nationals involved in illegal mining on Homonhon Island in Eastern Samar.
Read related article: 8,000 Foreign POGO Workers Have Yet To Leave PH
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