Philippine Senator Mark Villar guarantees that workers employed by Special Class Business Process Outsourcing (SCBPO) companies will remain unaffected by the complete ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in the country.
After inspecting SCBPOs in Aseana, Parañaque City, alongside Senator Sherwin Gatchalian and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) Chairman Alejandro H. Tengco, Villar confirmed this assurance. He emphasized that in the upcoming Senate hearings, SCBPO workers will not face closures expected before the year’s end, ensuring job security for Filipino workers.
Villar supports the closure of illegal POGOs but stresses the importance of implementing the President’s directive in a way that protects Filipino workers. As chair of the Senate Committee on Games and Amusement, Villar conducted the inspection to better understand SCBPO operations.
He explained that the inspection aimed to differentiate SCBPO operations from POGOs, which are set to close by year-end. Tengco mentioned that PAGCOR-regulated SCBPOs employ over 4,900 Filipino workers and 137 foreign nationals. He highlighted that PAGCOR mandates 95 percent of the SCBPO workforce be Filipino, distinguishing them from POGOs.
Tengco added that if SCBPOs under all investment promotion agencies (IPAs) are included, the number of Filipino workers would rise to 10,000. He clarified that SCBPOs only provide services to land-based gaming entities abroad and do not handle bets.
SCBPOs handle clients who hold gaming licenses from foreign jurisdictions. They also do not accept or process bets and payouts. This is what makes SCBPOs different from POGO operations who also handle financial side of online gaming operations.