The total closure of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) will have no significant impact on the country's economy, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Juanito Victor ‘Jonvic’ Remulla  said on Wednesday, Dec. 11.

“We don’t see a significant dent sa economy natin (in our economy),” said Remulla, citing reports from the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

Remulla expressed confidence that the closure of the POGO all over the country can be compensated with the enhanced revenue measures that will be conducted by the Department of Finance (DOF)

Remulla earlier said that al POGOs must be  closed by Dec. 31. He also vowed to oversee the closure of a POGO hub in Island Cove in Kawit, Cavite, which his family previously owned.

In addition, Remulla said that out of 353,000 visas issued for the last six years, only 33,863 remained in the country “of which recently 23,099 left already; 6,732 are still in the country of which 5,731 have applied for a downgrade of their visa from working to tourists.’’

“We still have 1,001 with no information and they have not applied for anything,’’ Remulla said.

He added that at present there were reports that of the 20 Filipinas who are pregnant with POGO workers, their husbands were repatriated back in their countries and are now “applying to come back here (Philippines).’’

Remulla also noted that the DILG will issue an executive order (EO), requiring the local chief executives (LCE) nationwide to submit reports of any suspicious activities within their localities pertaining to the “movement or possible setup’’ of the POGO. 

“Malalaman iyan sa spike bigla ng bandwidth use, entry of suspicious people congregating in houses not registered as businesses, makikita iyan sa movement ng mga foreigners na gustong mag-setup diyan na hindi naman kilala. (This will be known with the sudden spike of bandwidth use entry of suspicious people congregating in houses not registered as business, this can be seen with the movement of the foreigners who wish to set-up in the locality who are unknown in the area),’’ Remulla pointed out.