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PAGCOR Chairperson Alejandro Tengco,  during the Senate probe on illegal POGOS on July 10, 2024.  Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

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Senate probe on POGOs

Rowegie Abanto

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — The chief of the Philippines&#x27; gambling regulator on Tuesday said he wants to spare the special Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs) catering to gambling firms from the shuttering of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators, saying they are not directly involved in gambling and that thousands of Filipino jobs would be saved.</p><p>Speaking on ANC, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) Chairman Alejandro Tengco said he would offer this suggestion at high-level meetings with Cabinet members in the coming days.</p><p>&quot;Sayang, nanghihinayang lang ako. Wala po akong pinanggagalingan kundi panghihinayang lang,&quot; he said. &quot;Pero kung sabihin nila &#x27;Hindi, mask lang &#x27;yan na gagamitin para sa [Internet Gaming Licensee]&#x27; I will respect and we follow.&quot;</p><p>(It&#x27;s a pity, it&#x27;s regrettable. All I&#x27;m coming from is a sense of regret. But, if they say that it will just be used to mask IGLs, then I will respect and we follow)</p><p>&quot;I am not lobbying, I&#x27;m just making a suggestion,&quot; he also said.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/7/23/counting-the-cost-pogo-ban-to-affect-40-000-workers-p40-b-revenue-pagcor-838" id="isPasted">READ: Counting the cost: POGO ban to affect 40,000 workers, P40-B revenue - Pagcor</a></div><p>Tengco said he already mentioned his proposal to retain the operations of the 12 special BPOs to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who had ordered the complete shutter of all POGOs, including 43 Internet Gaming Licensees (IGLs), by the end of the year.</p><p>Thousands of workers — foreigners and Filipinos — will lose their jobs as POGOs leave the country. Marcos has ordered agencies to assist the Filipino workers who will be displaced by the shutdowns.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/7/24/20-000-foreign-pogo-workers-told-to-leave-philippines-in-60-days-1333" id="isPasted">READ: 20,000 foreign POGO workers told to leave Philippines in 60 days</a></div><p>The 12 special BPOs — which service gaming companies based in Australia, Canada, Europe, and the United States — employ more than 9,000 Filipino workers, Tengco said, adding that another six companies are applying for special BPO permits.</p><div><ivs-player data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-vid="3064352"></ivs-player></div><script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script><p>Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, however, expressed apprehension to the suggestion of the Pagcor chief, saying it needs to be carefully studied.</p><p>&quot;There’s a fine line between these service providers for gaming companies and also actual gaming companies,&quot; Gatchalian said Tuesday in a separate interview on ANC.</p><p>&quot;You can actually merge these two entities and become one gaming company. But how easy is that to happen that&#x27;s something that we need to analyze because we don&#x27;t want a scenario wherein we allow that but eventually morph into a gaming company,&quot; he added.</p><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/2024/7/20/budget-chief-says-ph-does-not-need-pogos-1624" id="isPasted">READ: Budget chief says PH &#x27;does not need&#x27; POGOs</a></div>

<p>The chief of the Philippines' gambling regulator wants to spare the special BPOs catering to gambling companies from the close-down operations of the government on all POGOs, saying they are not directly involved in gambling and that thousands of Filipino jobs will be saved.</p>

The chief of the Philippines' gambling regulator wants to spare the special BPOs catering to gambling companies from the close-down operations of the government on all POGOs, saying they are not directly involved in gambling and that thousands of Filipino jobs will be saved.

'Sayang': Pagcor wants to spare BPOs servicing gambling firms from POGO purge

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'Sayang': Pagcor wants to spare BPOs servicing gambling firms from POGO purge

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 30, 2024 01:19 PM PHT

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Updated Jul 30, 2024 01:49 PM PHT

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Alice Guo

SHerwin Gatchalian

ABSNews

ANC promo

POGO

Alejandro Tengco

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