THE total ban on Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) due on Dec. 31 is helping boost the country’s international image as a safe country, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Wednesday.
“The effect of the exodus of POGOs seems to be good because I believe it’s making people feel that it’s safer in the Philippines,” Spokesperson Dana Krizia M. Sandoval said in mixed English and Filipino in a briefing in Manila City.
She said the government has implemented changes to ensure tourists feel safer in the country.
“We believe this is a good sign for foreign nationals to go here. Our numbers of visitors are good. Our numbers of visitors are high. So, we saw the POGO ban didn’t have any adverse effects, and it was even more positive and effective in our tourism,” she added.
Tourism department data showed that international visitors to the Philippines totaled 5.65 million, as of Dec. 15. This accounted for 73.4% of the department’s 2024 target.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Joel Anthony M. Viado cited Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) data of 33,000 registered POGO, now called Internet Gaming Licensees (IGLs) workers, noting about 23,000 to 24,000 of them had voluntarily left the country already.
He said a “substantial number” had downgraded their working visas to tourist visas.
About 8,000 foreign IGL workers are still in the country, he said. A thousand of them are unaccounted for or IGL workers who did not downgrade their visas.
Mr. Viado reminded those who did not downgrade their visas to leave the country before the Dec. 31 deadline or they would be blacklisted by the bureau.
“After Dec. 31, the bureau would start blacklisting them.”
During his State of the Nation Address in July, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. ordered a ban on all offshore gaming operations, citing links to illegal activities such as human trafficking, money laundering, and financial scams. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana
