A deputy speaker in the House of Representatives said the Philippine government should pay fair and equal treatment to foreign workers, including those employed by controversial Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO).

“TUCP calls on the government to pay equal attention to the plight of these foreign workers...because we ourselves have also deployed millions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and seafarers abroad," Deputy Speaker and TUCP Party-list Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza said in a statement Wednesday, Sept. 28.

“Government must ensure the proper treatment of these foreign POGO workers in the same manner that we demand the proper treatment of our OFWs abroad,” stressed the labor leader.

Mendoza had this to say amid the Department of Justice's (DOJ) plans to deport at least 2,000 POGO workers by October as part of crackdown on foreign workers who are still in the country following the termination of their POGO firms’ licenses.

These foreign workers' continued stay in the country is said to be illegal.

“We have seen the horrific treatment of illegal and undocumented OFWs, and how extremely vulnerable our Filipino workers were, and are, in distant countries to abuse and draconian treatment from governments that regarded our OFWs as mere commodities," Mendoza said.

According to TUCP, the "golden rule" should apply in this instance, and thus advised the government to "do unto POGO workers what you would want foreign governments to do unto OFWs".

Echoing this sentiment was Nagkaisa Chairman Sonny Matula, who emphasized that like many abused OFWs abroad, foreign POGO workers should not be considered criminals,but victims of shady labor and business practices.

“To us in the labor movement, the most important aspect of that protection aside from due process is by not criminalizing the victims, for in many cases, migrant workers end up victims to onerous labor contracts if not outright trafficking by criminal organizations,” Matula said.

He said the Department of Labor and Employers (DOLE) needs to take a more active role in the regulation of POGO workers since it is in charge of the registration and issuance of work permits to regulate the employment of foreigners under the Labor Code.

The DOJ revealed that there are still an estimated 40,000 POGO workers--mostly Chinese nationals--in the country despite the termination of 175 POGO licenses.