Philippines’ Vice President lashes out at POGOs

The influx of Chinese retirees to the Philippines is seen as a security threat  

The Vice President of the Philippines, Leni Robredo, expressed her concern over the huge influx of Chinese tourists seeking permanent residency in the country as retirees.

Robredo emphasised that although they claim to be retirees some of these individuals are as young as 35 years old. The Vice President says that this should have been spotted from the start. “It has been four years for the administration. Why did we let it slide?”

Data from the Philippine Retirement Authority shows that there are currently 27,678 Chinese individuals listed as retirees in the Philippines. This is posing an imminent threat to national security. Robredo says “This could be dangerous to our national security. We are so many. That’s one of the dangers.”

The employment of Filipinos is at stake as these Chinese retirees took over the POGO industry in the Philippines. “Firstly, POGOs should not be allowed here, because number one, it is illegal in China so why would it be allowed here?” she said. Robredo goes on to say that in China gambling is illegal and existing gambling crime regulations are constantly being revised with an increase in penalties.

She further explains that “if they apply for a job here, many Filipinos, who are already unemployed will find further competition to find a job.”

NOGOs VS. POGOs:

The Philippine Govt’ has been in a serious fight against non-registered offshore gaming operators and back in May, arrested 265 individuals operating illegally. As long as the offshore companies are registered and regulated by PAGCOR, President Rodrego Duterte, unlike Vice President Leni Robredo, finds no opposition in letting them go.

In the Philippines, NOGOs are arrested by the Philippine National Police in cooperation with the Bureau of Immigration and the Office of the Cybercrime under the Department of Justice.

POGOs and their economic contributions:

One has to keep in mind the significant role POGOs are playing in the recovery of the COVID-19 induced global economic crisis in the Philippines.

The fight against POGOs is more challenging than Leni Robredo is making it out to be, as a statement released by the Accredited Service Providers of PAGCOR (ASPAP) in May clearly shows the billions of contributions offshore operators are granting to the Philippine’s economy. The statement showed that back in May POGOs presented a massive PHP94.7 -104 billion (US$1.87-2.05 billion) to the country’s economy from the beginning of the year.

About SiGMA’s revamped website:

SiGMA Group is excited to announce the launch of its newly revamped website. The website is currently available in 5 languages, English, Russian, Mandarin, Portuguese, and Spanish with plans to add another 5 languages over the coming months – namely French, Thai, Korean, Japanese, and Hindi.