Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla is set to meet with Chinese Embassy officials to discuss the repatriation of about 40,000 Chinese nationals who lost their jobs with the closure of the firms of 175 Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) in the Philippines.
Department of Justice (DOJ) Assistant Secretary and Spokesperson Jose Dominic F. Clavano IV said the meeting will be on Thursday afternoon, Sept. 22, at the DOJ’s main office in Manila.
Clavano said Secretary Remulla will “speak about the cancelled POGO companies as listed by PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation).” The meeting will be the first between Remulla and Chinese officials on the POGO issue, he said.
“There must be a coordinated effort between the two countries to bring them back to China given that they have no more basis to stay here in the Philippines,” Clavano also said.
Last Tuesday, Sept. 20, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said he will hold a public hearing to tackle the various issues involving POGO operations in the country.
Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, said he will conduct the hearing to assess the state of the government’s revenue collection from these Chinese-backed firms.
“I’ll have a hearing on Thursday on the revenue and economic benefits, or the lack of it, about POGO. Then we can assess holistically the operations of POGO,” he said.
Invited to the hearing are officials from the Department of Finance (DOF), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and PAGCOR which ordered the closure of POGO.
Several lawmakers have joined calls to stop the POGO in the country due to the series of kidnapping, bribery and rise of criminality, especially involving Chinese and Filipino-Chinese citizens.