POGO workers have until Oct. 15 to downgrade work visas: BI

FILE: View of the Bureau of Immigration Building from Binondo across the Pasig River. (Photo By Judgefloro/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

By Ferdinand Patinio, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Monday called on foreign workers of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) to voluntarily downgrade their work visas, maintaining that the Oct. 15 deadline for the measure will not be extended.

In a statement, BI officer in charge Joel Anthony Viado noted that the 59-day period after Oct. 15, coincides with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive for foreign POGO workers to leave by the end of the year.

He noted that the BI is committed to expediting the downgrading process for POGO employees.

“We will ensure that the orders of the President are implemented swiftly and efficiently,” he said.

The announcement was confirmed during a recent briefing with officials from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), together with representatives of POGO companies.

Visa downgrading allows foreign nationals to revert their status from a work visa to a temporary visitor visa, thereby enabling them to remain legally in the Philippines for 59 days while winding down their affairs.

As part of the government’s coordinated effort to address the closure of POGO operations, the BI, together with the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), PAGCOR, Philippine National Police (PNP), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) formed an interagency task force on the closure of POGOs.

The BI, together with PAGCOR, held a briefing on Monday with representatives of POGO companies.

“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,” Viado said.

Workers who fail to leave the country by Dec. 31, 2024 would face deportation proceedings and would be blacklisted from re-entering the Philippines.