A group of Filipino workers in Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGOs) appealed to the government to seriously consider the potential job losses should it decide to close down the industry.
In a briefing, Michael Danganan, Association of Service Providers and POGOs (ASPAP) spokesperson, said that more than 23,000 Filipinos will lose “decent and well-paying jobs” if government shuts down legitimate online gaming entities.
Composed of 16 Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.-licensed (Pagcor) POGOs and 68 service providers, ASPAP members employ a total of 23,118 Filipinos, consisting of direct hired, 11,776; and indirect hired, 11,342.
Comparatively, ASPAP members employ 17,130 foreign nationals.
“We’re proud to say that our group employs more Pinoys than foreigners,” Danganan said on Monday, Oct. 10.
ASPAP represents less than half of Pagcor’s 35 POGO licensees, Danganan said emphasizing that the number of Filipinos employed by the entire sector “is definitely much higher.”
Sharing more details on ASPAP members’ operations, Paul Bongco, ASPAP representative, said the group has 129 offices for customer relations service, IT support, live studio streaming, and functions.
Total floor area occupied is 407,841 square meters – or the equivalent of almost 1,000 standard-sized basketball courts. These offices are mostly found in Paranaque, Makati, Cavite, Pasay, Pampanga, Manila and Mandaluyong.
Based on ASPAP’s data, about 31.4 percent of their Filipino workers serve as team leaders or supervisors, administrative assistants, sport-book handlers, kitchen staff, security officers, finance assistants, accounting assistants, and 60 other jobs.
Sixteen percent work as data entry clerks; 10.5 percent as customer service representatives; 10 percent as housekeepers; and the rest as general office staff, company drivers, payment officers, maintenance staff, dealers or presenters, data processors, and security guards.
Bongco said ASPAP members share most Filipinos’ concerns over the reported rise in crime incidence in the POGO sector. He stressed, however, that it’s unfair to blame the whole industry for the illegal activities of a few.
He said ASPAP members want to do business quietly, take care of their employees and pay their corresponding share in taxes.
“We thus appeal to our government – President Marcos and our senators in particular – not to look at the POGO sector as the enemy but rather an ally in nation building,” Bongco said.
Apart from employment, he said industry data showed that in the last six years POGOs contributed more than P61-billion to the government in terms of taxes and fees paid to Pagcor, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, among other.
ASPAP was established in 2020 in response to the onslaught of Covid-19. To help in government’s pandemic response, the group donated P213-million in cash; P24-million in relief goods; 300,000 test kits; 2.5 million surgical masks, and other hospital equipment.