DOLE ready to aid ex-POGO workers

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is ready to lend assistance to displaced Filipino workers of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO) who lost their jobs after internet gaming operations were shut down last year. Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma called on the estimated 40,000 former POGO workers to visit the DOLE office if they were still looking for jobs. "The Labor Department is very much willing to help and assist them should they need our help," said Laguesma, adding that they could also go to the Public Employment Service Offices, which is under the DOLE's technical supervision. Laguesma made the call following the low hiring rate for displaced POGO workers in the recent DOLE job fair in Pasay City, where only 100 workers were hired on the spot. "We continue to reach out to them because, based on figures, there are more or less 40,000 POGO workers that were affected by the President's order to close all internet gaming operations," he said. Laguesma said that while some internet gaming employees have found new jobs, many others remain unemployed, hoping to be re-hired once POGOs are allowed to resume. Another reason many displaced POGO workers couldn't find a job was the salary being offered was far below what they were receiving. Laguesma said the DOLE is also offering POGO workers skills development to enhance their employability. The President's order to ban all POGOs was sparked by criminal activities linked to illegal gaming operators, such as kidnapping, murder, human trafficking, and prostitution. Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) records show that there were 30,445 foreigners and 31,322 Filipinos working for POGOs. Of the 30,445 alien workers, 12,315 are Vietnamese, 7,870 are, 4,786 are Indonesians, 1,716 are Malaysians, 1,696 are Myanmarese, 843 are Thais, 497 are Taiwanese, and 272 are Koreans. At their peak, POGOs employed more than 300,000 Chinese workers.