Lawmakers on Thursday called for a House investigation of the proliferation of Philippine offshore gaming operation (Pogo) sites manned largely by Chinese citizens, citing national security and labor concerns.<\/p>\n\n
Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta Rep. Jericho Nograles said Congress should exercise its oversight function and look into the \u201cchallenges\u201d that the country faced in the wake of the \u201cunforeseen\u201d impact of the Pogo sites nationwide before it passed any measure to regulate them.<\/p>\n\n
He cited \u201csensitive\u201d security concerns regarding the presence of Pogo sites close to military and police headquarters\u2014Camp Aguinaldo (Armed Forces of the Philippines); Camp Crame (Philippine National Police); Camp Bagong Diwa (PNP National Capital Region Police Office); Fort Bonifacio (Philippine Army); Villamor Air Base (Philippine Air Force); and the Philippine Navy headquarters in Manila.<\/p>\n\n
In a resolution, the Makabayan bloc on Thursday urged the House committee on games and amusements, as well as the committee on good government and public accountability, to conduct a joint inquiry to determine the impact of Pogos on the Filipino people, the local economy and national security.<\/p>\n\n
Military-looking men<\/strong><\/p>\n\n \u201cThere is now grave concerns that the operation of offshore gambling in the country is not only used by its operators to skirt their national laws, particularly in mainland China, but is also being used by them to keep the laws of its host country at bay,\u201d the Makabayan lawmakers said.<\/p>\n\n Nograles said he has received calls and messages from people who were saying that Chinese Pogo workers look more like military men than gambling call center agents.<\/p>\n\n He supported the proposal by Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) to confine Pogos in hubs where foreign workers would be provided not just work and residential spaces but also other amenities such as groceries, restaurants and recreational areas.<\/p>\n\n \u2018Ghettoization\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n \u201cI would have to say that we have to reassess the location of Pogos, and I stand with Pagcor that it is easier to regulate Pogos if they are created in hubs, and hopefully these hubs will stay away from military bases,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n Pagcor also said foreign workers would be free to go outside these self-contained hubs. (See related story in Business, Page B2-1)<\/p>\n\n The proposed hubs, however, were opposed by Trade Union Congress of the Philippines Rep. Raymond Mendoza, saying these showed \u201cracism\u201d and \u201cghettoization\u201d of Chinese workers.<\/p>\n\n \u201cThe segregation and isolation of different races is unacceptable in a modern society. Migrant workers here in the country become more susceptible to exploitation when they are kept in seclusion,\u201d Mendoza said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n He called on the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) to inspect Pogos for their compliance with the country\u2019s labor laws. He also urged the Bureau of Immigration to conduct audits to ensure that companies employing holders of alien employment permits were not exploiting their workers.<\/p>\n\n Mendoza said workers rights must be respected \u201cregardless of race or nationality\u201d and it was the responsibility of the Dole to ensure that the rights of foreign workers legally employed were \u201crespected and upheld.\u201d<\/p>\n\n Valid work permits<\/strong><\/p>\n\n \u201cThere is big money behind these Pogos and it is time to subject these companies to the kind of intense scrutiny that will address these fundamental rights and crackdown on any exploitation of workers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n 1-Pacman Rep. Enrico Pineda, chair of the House committee on labor, said Congress would also have to ascertain whether the foreign Pogo workers have valid work permits and were not taking away jobs from Filipinos.<\/p>\n\n Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Malaca\u00f1ang will support the proposed hubs as long as there were no violations of the rights of Pogo employees.<\/p>\n\n \u201cWe have to protect all the nationals of any country in our country,\u201d Panelo said at a press briefing on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n Mendoza said there were reports of Chinese workers being lured into Pogos with promises of big salaries but end up in poor working conditions and \u201coutright exploitation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n He said some of the reports included alleged torture and kidnappings of these workers.<\/p>\n\n Debt-related abductions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Following the influx of Chinese nationals and the increase in the number of Pogos, the PNP\u2019s Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG) noted a surge in casino debt-related abductions .<\/p>\n\n In a statement, Col. Jonnel Estomo, the PNP-AKG director, said that as of June 2019 there were 56 licensed Pogos in the country, employing 100,000 to 250,000 Chinese nationals. In addition, there were about 30 illegal Pogos.<\/p>\n\n Estomo noted that since 2017 there had been 52 cases of casino-related kidnappings of Chinese nationals, mostly by their compatriots, 119 of whom have been arrested.<\/p>\n\n The Chinese influx created opportunities for some of their compatriots to get involved in the \u201cwicked business of loan sharking\u201d inside casino premises, he said.<\/p>\n\n Estomo said kidnap gangs offered accommodations and gambling money to Chinese nationals who were required to sign promissory notes, turn over their passports and to give 20 to 30 percent of their winnings as commission to the group.<\/p>\n\n If the victim loses, he would be detained, beaten up and the videos showing them being tortured would be sent to their families to force them to pay large amounts for their release, he explained. \u2014WITH REPORTS FROM TINA G. SANTOS, JULIE M. AURELIO AND JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Lawmakers on Thursday called for a House investigation of the proliferation of Philippine offshore gaming operation (Pogo) sites manned largely by Chinese citizens, citing national security and labor concerns. Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta Rep. Jericho Nograles said Congress should exercise its oversight function and look into the \u201cchallenges\u201d that the country faced in the wake […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":922985,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,34,37,45],"tags":[],"byline":[1086],"source":[206078],"column":[],"editor":[],"videographer":[],"position":[],"class_list":["post-1154395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inquirer-headlines","category-latest-stories","category-nation","category-nation-latest-stories","byline-melvin-gascon","source-philippine-daily-inquirer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n