Job fair for displaced POGO workers attract few from industry

Only a few applicants from Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO) went to the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) job fair for workers displaced by the looming shutdown of POGOs in the country following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to ban such businesses.

According to Mark Salazar’s report in 24 Oras on Thursday, DOLE held job fairs in Makati City and in Paranaque City to offer new job opportunities to 27,000 POGO workers affected by the ban.

However, only seven applicants attended the job fair in Makati. One of them is Mary Jane Delos Reyes, a former data analyst in an internet gaming licensee.

Delos Reyes admitted that it was hard for her to leave her former job because aside from the bearable workload, it paid well and the benefits were good.

“Nag-start po ako ng P14,000 plus allowance na P5,000, then sa four years ko, tumaas na po siya. And may mga allowances po kasi kami like house allowance, incentives, other allowances na binibigay po nila,” she said. “Kumpleto rin po kami sa mga government benefits.”

(I started with a P14,000 salary plus a P5,000 allowance. Then it increased during my four years there. We also have other allowances like a house allowance, incentives, and others….We are also entitled to government benefits.)

Meanwhile, another former POGO worker, Jude Pamillesa, expressed his frustration that legal hubs were also affected by the December 31 closure.

“Sayang kasi okay naman po. Actually, minimum po kami pero hindi mo mararamdaman gawa ng mga allowance at incentives,” he said.

(It is frustrating. Actually, we were minimum wage earners but we didn’t felt that we were because of the allowances and incentives.)

Fortunately, Delos Reyes was hired as an operations specialist at a small firm and Pamillesa found employment as an assets specialist in a warehouse.

Marcos banned all POGOs last July, citing such businesses had ventured into illicit activities following the series of raids that led to the discovery of torture chambers, love scams, and other crimes in several hubs.

The Bureau of Immigration had set an October 15 deadline for former foreign POGO workers to downgrade their visas or else face deportation.

In Paranaque City, 40 former POGO employees tried their luck and many of them found new jobs.

DOLE’s Bureau for Local Employment was also surprised with the low turnout even though they have advised affected POGO workers to join.

"What our field offices have done since may contact na tayo sa kanila, nako-communicate natin agad ang mga ganitong activities na ginagawa natin katulad po ng mga job fair na [isinasagawa] natin ngayon,” said director Patrick Patriwirawan.

(What our field offices have done since we already have a contact with them, we communicated with them about our activities like job fairs.)

But some of the applicants in the job fair were not necessarily former POGO employees.

Among them was Jeffrey Uy, a person with disability whose contract in his former job had just ended.

Uy came from the academe but admitted that he is having a hard time catching up with the labor market.

“Tumigil na ako sa previous job kasi gusto ko mag-try sa corporate,” he said.

(I quit my previous job because I want to try working in the corporate world.)

As the Christmas season approaches, the bureau said the country’s economy is in good shape, hence, the availability of jobs. 

"We're expecting na mas gumanda pa po ang performance ng labor market given that there will be more demands for workers particularly during this Christmas season,” said Patriwirawan.

(We’re expecting that our labor market’s performance will improve given that there will be more demands for workers particularly during this Christmas season.) —Vince Angelo Ferreras/RF, GMA Integrated News