Pinoy POGO workers' group says shutdown calls ‘anti-poor’

The Pinoy sa POGO, a group of Filipino workers in the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) sector, on Wednesday slammed the call of big business groups for the phaseout of their sector.

In a statement, the group scored the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF), Makati Business Club (MBC), and Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) for their “elitist” and “anti-poor” call to shut down the POGOs in the country. 

The business groups cited the “social and reputational” costs to the country of the offshore online gaming industry.

The Pinoy sa POGO, however, said these remarks from big businesses are “misleading and discriminatory statements dismissing the significant economic contributions of legitimate POGOs and service providers that pay proper taxes and license fees to government.”

Karen Santa Cruz, one of the officers of Pinoy sa POGO, said that rich businessmen “never experienced hunger or lack of money to send their children to school so they don’t care about us.”

Santa Cruz said the real “social cost” if the government shuts down POGOs is massive unemployment of their workers and their service providers that employ thousands of Filipinos as encoders, dealers, housekeeping staff, drivers, cooks and waiters.

“The worst insult is to deprive us of dignity and cause family separation when we are again forced to seek work abroad,” she said.

Pinoy sa POGO is appealing to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to help Filipino POGO workers.

“Mr. President, we are pleading for your help by not allowing big business groups to take away our jobs and ruin the future of our families especially now that Christmas is just around the corner,” Santa Cruz said.

The group also criticized the business groups and some lawmakers for alleged ‘double standard’ in dealing with online gaming.

“Their hearts bleed for Chinese mainlanders who gamble in POGOs but are strangely silent with regards the proliferation of local text and online gaming scams that lure Filipinos, including the youth, to gamble,” Santa Cruz said.

The Association of Service Providers and POGOs (ASAP) also warned that some 23,000 Filipinos would lose their jobs if the operators are banned from the country.

GMA News Online reached out to MAP for its reaction which will be incorporated in the posted story once received.—LDF, GMA News