More than 48,000 foreign workers of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) have either left the Philippines or are set to be deported after the licenses of their former employers were either cancelled or revoked, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) has revealed.
BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval shed some light on the sheer scale of the agency’s POGO-related work during a briefing on Friday, the Philippine News Agency reported, with the 34 currently-approved POGO operators down from a peak of 63 in 2019.
“[There are] more than 48,000,” Sandoval said. “It’s quite a tedious task, admittedly, but we are confident that within the month we will see a breakdown of which of these numbers have already left the country and which are the ones that would be leaving.”
The BI explained it would cancel the visas of all foreign workers of POGOs whose licenses had been revoked but that they would be given a 59-day grace period to leave the country.
“The Department of Justice also mentioned that this is a humanitarian option and at the same time … it’s also the more economic option for the government,” Sandoval said.
“Besides the order to leave, it’s a part of the regular procedure of visa cancellation. With visa cancellation, there is no need to hold custody of the foreign national which results in fewer expenses for the government.
“If [the workers] exceed it, for example they have taken 61 days before they leave, they have not left, we can initiate deportation proceedings.”
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