POGOs warned vs illegal workers

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) warned offshore gaming operators and service providers that they will be penalized once found their companies are employing undocumented foreign nationals.

While foreign workers are under the regulatory authorities of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) as well as the Bureau of Immigration, Pagcor said it wants to be assured that lawful employment is being practiced by all accredited offshore gaming companies.

“Employing undocumented foreign workers by licensed operations and their accredited service providers is a violation warranting imposition of demerits, fines and other administrative penalties, without prejudice to suspension of operations and/ or cancellation of license or accreditation,” Pagcor said in a statement.

Earlier, the Department of Finance (DOF) asked for a consolidated and reconciled report by the various government agencies and offices involved in screening, providing work permits and registration of foreign workers in the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) sector.

The report was asked by Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III after the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) discovered that only eight out of 44 offshore operators are