POGO workers urged to downgrade visas

THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) said it would not extend the October 15 deadline for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) foreign employees to voluntarily file their visas for downgrading. Visa downgrading allows foreigners to change their visa status from work to temporary visitor, enabling them to remain legally in the Philippines for 59 more days to complete any unfinished business. "During the briefing, the BI said that it may conduct implementation days for POGO companies, where we will implement their downgraded visa status and issue exit clearances on-the-spot," BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said on Tuesday, noting the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) was already advised concerning the procedure. He added that the procedures for visa downgrading have been simplified, leaving no excuse for foreign POGO workers to delay compliance. Representatives from the Labor Department would be present to facilitate the surrendering of alien employment permits, Viado said. POGO workers who fail to leave the country by December 31 would be deported and blacklisted by the BI. The BI, together with the Department of Justice, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Pagcor, Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission have formed an interagency task force for the orderly closure of POGOs.