The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced that it will expedite the applications of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) or Internet Gaming Licensees (IGLs) for their foreign workers to exit the country.
BI Officer-in-Charge Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado shared that they have formed teams to personally visit POGO and IGL companies to implement their downgrading on-the-spot.
Viado made the announcement after BI representatives attended an inter-agency meeting on the closure of POGOs. The meeting was comprised of the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), Philippine National Police (PNP), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC).
“During the meeting, members agreed to conduct service days for POGO companies, where we will implement their downgraded visa status and issue exit clearances,” said Viado. He added that DOLE representatives will likewise join them during the service days to receive surrendered alien employment permits of the POGO workers.
Viado reiterated the earlier announcement of the DOJ that all foreign POGO workers are given until October 15, 2024, to voluntarily downgrade.
Those who fail to apply before the said date will be ordered to leave the country within 59 days. If the said foreign workers fail to leave before December 31, the BI will initiate deportation proceedings against them.
The BI reported that as of September 24, they have downgraded 5,955 visas, 55% of which have already left the country.
Viado stated that the more challenging period will come in 2025, when those who have refused to leave will be arrested, deported, and blacklisted from the Philippines.
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