POGO: What They Are & How Families Have Been Affected
With President Bongbong Marcos announcing the ban on POGOs in the Philippines in his SONA last July 22, 2024, here’s what they are.
The Philippines has been known as a source of quality, outsourced labor. First-world countries like the United States, Australia, and other foreign companies contract Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) companies that employ Filipinos. POGOs (or Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators) are no different; gambling is a big industry in the Philippines — one that, despite being notorious, has its benefits.
What do POGOs do?
Similar to how people run a social media group on our favorite social media websites, POGOs are the ones who run the gambling operations or mediate. They take in bets from customers outside of various countries, with most of the patrons being Chinese. Ideally, their job is to ensure that the gambling scene remains clean by tracking or making bets for customers and paying the winners.
To operate, these companies get a license from the PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation).
Some families have made a living from this kind of work. The payouts from managing the bets and monitoring the players made a hefty amount and with it being work-from-home in spite of the graveyard shift, the set-up was ideal for some parents. Their inverted body schedule was only a small price to pay if the nightshift differential and the lower expenditures (e.g. no need to commute, no need for new clothes, etc.) funded better living standards for their family.
When the risks were not worth it and bets went wrong
Unfortunately, PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation) suffered quite a blow when out of the 200 known gambling entities, only 60 had licenses to operate. Reports of counterfeit PAGCOR licenses became rampant and that was only the surface of the many horrors.
However, some have abused the gambling scene by betting not just money but lives as well. The gambling would serve as a front for human trafficking, money laundering, prostitution dens, and other illegal processes. Last year, Las Piñas had a POGO raid resulting in the rescue of 2.7k victims who were scammed — some were fooled into thinking more money would be earned there.
Another POGO in Porac, Pampanga was also raided. According to the reports, the masterminds managed to escape while abandoning the “employees” who they tortured.
Besides illegal processes, companies who ran the show often sought out operators who were fluent in Mandarin. Unfortunately, it required business-level Mandarin which is quite difficult to learn which is why these POGO companies brought in more Chinese nationals. Filipino families eventually lost their jobs in favor of the native speakers and even their homes — some landowners would favor Chinese tenants especially if they knew they were POGOs. Landowners would see it as a chance to charge higher.
With this nationwide ban, what happens to the many displaced Filipino wage earners?
But for some families who have made their living in this industry, it’s a renewed struggle to become the breadwinner. Because a lot of these jobs were remote, some will probably find it difficult to apply for government-mandated benefits and adjust to on-site work. PAGCOR, although compliant, revealed a heartbreaking exchange: over 42,000 Filipinos would lose jobs due to the ban.
And who knows just how many among those 42,000 are parents with families to feed?
While PAGCOR chief Alejandro Tengco announced that PAGCOR has already been working with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to help these employees develop more skills and find them jobs by 2025, some working parents may have to start upskilling as early as now especially if their skill has become so niche specific.
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