A Filipino worker at a Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) firm appealed to House of Representatives members on Wednesday, Oct 19 to be "open-minded" regarding her industry, which has apparently given her a lot of relief in life.
Jacqueline Frias Adap physically attended the House Committee on Labor and Employment hearing Wednesday, Oct. 19 to serve as resource person on the motu proprio investigation into labor issues surrounding controversial POGOs.
Adap says she works as an encoder for a POGO firm in Cavite. "So lahat po ng transaction namin is through online po. Bale, payment po kami (All of our transactions are through online. We're involved with payment)," she told the House panel chaired by Rizal 4th district Rep. Fidel Nograles.
"Sana naman po, open-minded po kayo na wag niyo naman po sana isara, kasi marami pong natutulungan si POGO, hindi lang po ako, marami po kami na mawawalan ng trabaho (I hope you'll be open-minded enough to not close us down because POGO helps a lot of people, not just me, a lot of us will lose their jobs)," she said.
Adap went on to describe the positive impact her employment has brought to her.
"I'm married po at may anak po akong isa (and I have one child). Dahil po sa POGO sir, nakakapagpagawa na po ako ng bahay, and then may kapatid po ako napag-aaral ko. And then maski papaano po, nakakapundar po kami ng appliances (Because of POGO, I was able to begin construction of a house, and then I've able to put my sibling through school. And somehow we've managed to buy appliances).
"Sa accommodation po, lahat naman po ng privilege is naibibigay po nila. Bale naka-comdominium po kami, may free meal po kami, and then yung laundry po namin, sagot na rin po nila. Hindi siya naipo-provide ng previous work ko (They give us all the privileges when it comes to accommodation. I stay at a condominium, we get free meals, and the company pays for our laundry. My previous work couldn't provide that)," Adap said.
POGOs are mostly foreign-run companies with a predominantly foreign workforce. In case of Adap, she claims to have a a good relationship with her foreign co-workers.
"It's been two years po since nag-start po ako sa POGO (since I began working at the POGO)...hindi naman po ako magtatagal doon kung hindi po OK yung relationship namin between foreigners po and then po sa amin (I wouldn't have lasted there if our relationship with the foreigners had been bad)," she said.
Adap further appealed to then congressmen: "Sa ngayon po talaga is, si POGO lang po ang makakapagbigay po sa akin ng...sapat siya (For now, only POGO can provide me...with a wage that's enough)."
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"Paano ko po matatapos yung...may mga loans pa po ako, and then POGO lang po ang nagbibigay sa akin ng way para magawa ko po iyon (How would I be able to complete...I'm still paying off loans, and only POGO gives me away to do all of those)," she said.
During the same hearing, Rosalinda Pineda, chief of the Department of Labor and Employment's (DOLE) employment service policy and regulations division, told the panel that there werem17,000 Filipinos working in POGOs.
Some House members have called on government to rid the country of POGOs for allegedly attracting foreign crime syndicates.