DOLE to cancel permits of foreign workers in POGOs leaving PH

Bello, however, said they have yet to receive any information from the Philippine Amusement Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) on POGOs that have left the country. (File photo by Ramon FVelasquez/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

MANILA – The Alien employment permits (AEPs) of foreign workers of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) that have left the country will be automatically revoked, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said on Tuesday.

“Workers have no right to work since the operator has already left. They can apply again since we have to make sure that the operator that will hire them is paying taxes,” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said in an interview.

The AEP is issued to foreign nationals for them to be allowed to legally work in the country.

Bello, however, said they have yet to receive any information from the Philippine Amusement Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) on POGOs that have left the country.

“We have not received any information that there were POGOs that have left. We have not been informed by Pagcor. Our dealings with POGOs operators are merely the issuance of Alien Employment Permits to their workers,” he said.

Reports earlier said several POGOs are looking to cease operations in the country due to strict rules set by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

On Monday, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said POGOs may leave the country but they still have to pay their tax dues.