Neda chief: Cabinet yet to discuss Pogo ban
MANILA, Philippines — Calls to ban Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) have yet to be discussed in the cabinet, said National Economic Development Authority (Neda) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan on Tuesday.
“Wala (None). We haven’t really talked about it in the sense of, you know — I mean, at the level of the economic managers, I’m not quite aware if there are other meetings,” said Balisacan in a Palace briefing on Tuesday.
However, Balisacan, for his part, reinforced his sentiment of being against Pogos, stating that the government’s attention should instead be focused on “generating high-quality jobs.”
READ: Neda chief supports banning Pogos, agrees on ‘social costs’
“And nothing in creating gambling jobs is one of what I define as good jobs… because I think that there are a lot of other opportunities for the country, for the economy, and for our workers, and we can focus on those,” he said.
Balisacan acknowledged that banning Pogos would result in significant revenue losses, but he also stressed that letting Pogos continue to operate required an even more significant social cost.
“It may be a big number, but the cost and particularly social cost of Pogos are quite high and also, we are trying to position our country as a legitimate place for business where we are trying to attract investors to come, tourists to come, and so the least that we want is to have a reputation, nandito iyong mga criminals (of having criminals in the country),” he said.
READ: Bad for relations: China presses PH to ban Pogos
He also expressed optimism that the country can quickly recover its losses once it successfully generates “high-quality jobs.”
Profiling affected workers
Meanwhile, Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has already finished “profiling” workers who may lose their jobs should the government decide to ban Pogos.
The department previously projected around 22,000 job losses in Metro Manila should the government adopt proposals from lawmakers and other groups to close down Pogos.
“The profiling would look at anong klase ng skill ang kanilang ginagawa sa ngayon, anong klase intervention para maialign sila sa mga potential na trabaho na nanilika batay dun sa mga investments na talagang nag-materialize,” explained Laguesma.
(The profiling would look at what kind of skills they have right now and what kind of intervention is needed to align them with the potential jobs created based on the investments that materialized.)
He also mentioned upskilling and training programs for affected workers.
READ: Gov’t orders freezing of Porac Pogo assets
