The Philippine Offshore Gambling Operators (POGOs) might be allowed to continue in the Philippines, but not unless they start following the law. It appears they\u2019ll have to take care of plenty of\u00a0paperwork to do that, as a recent report indicates thousands of employees and dozens of POGOs aren\u2019t entirely certified.<\/p>\n
Bureau of Local Employment Director Dominique Tutay told the media on September 23 that at least 14,000 foreign POGO employees lack the required working permits for their jobs, the Manila Standard\u00a0reports<\/strong>. This number was gathered from an investigation of 177 POGO related service providers. Of the thousands he cited, 8,000 lacked an Alien Employment Permit (AEP), while 6,000 hadn\u2019t met their requirements with the Bureau of Immigration.<\/p>\n That number is likely made up of plenty of employees of insufficiently licensed POGOs as well. Representative Ace Barbers, chairman of the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs, claimed that 46 of the currently licensed POGOs lack all the necessary permits or permission to operate, either in the Philippines or the country they are servicing. \u201cThe alleged \u2018kolorum\u2019 (a local term for unlicensed) POGOs operating in the country may undermine the local anti-money laundering and anti-drug and criminality campaigns,\u201d he told the press.<\/p>\n As a result of Tutay\u2019s investigation, the Labor department has referred the Bureau of Immigration to the foreign employees it should be chasing for legal action.<\/p>\n If the POGOs in question want to get good with the law, there is some good news. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has recently set up a\u00a0one stop shop<\/strong>\u00a0for foreign workers, allowing them to take care of their immigration and work permit needs.<\/p>\n But that won\u2019t be all. The government recently cited alarming tax obligations that POGOs have yet to meet. If they don\u2019t pay their\u00a0tax bills<\/strong>, that will be yet more cause for government officials to rail against the POGO industry, something they\u2019ve had more than their fair share of recently, between being labeled as\u00a0spies<\/strong>\u00a0and being\u00a0raided<\/strong>\u00a0for unclear reasons.<\/p>\n