The nation’s Department of Labor and Employment has not yet received any reports on displaced Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) workers, according to Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma.
Speaking to the media, Laguesma mentioned that authorities are monitoring the National Capital Region (NCR), as “that is where the majority of IGLs are. POGOs were rebranded as Internet Gaming Licensees (IGLs).
The official also indicated that authorities have profiled around 20,000 POGO workers, with most able to transition into admin, finance, HR, or encoding-related jobs. Previously, the head of the Philippine gaming regulator, PAGCOR, mentioned that up to 40,000 workers could be affected.
“We are happy. Their company is cooperative, providing a list of workers who might be affected by the closure of IGLs by the last month of the year. This process is ongoing, and we aim to provide proper assistance,” noted the official, as cited by the nation’s news agency.
Affected workers are encouraged to use the online job application matching system, PhiJobNet, and a job fair for affected IGL workers is expected “within the month.” In July, the nation’s president announced a ban on POGO operations, ordering them to close by the end of the year.
There will be a lot of displaced local employees currently working for POGO operations and the government should exert effort in helping them find suitable jobs again.
