Government agencies urged to speed up deportation of former offshore gaming workers
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has called for a change in policy.
The Philippines.- Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has backed calls for the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to remove a need for passport presentation for the deportation of foreign nationals who worked for offshore gaming operators.
The NBI currently requires potential deportees’ passports, but many workers had their passports confiscated by their former employers, leading to delays. The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) has called for a change in policy. Gatchalian has suggested that, in cases where deportees do not possess a passport, the BI and NBI should explore alternative methods of verifying identities, such as using fingerprint records collected by the BI.
Gatchalian said: “Government agencies must work together to deport foreign offshore gaming workers quickly so that law enforcement can focus on tracking down those who still defy the President’s ban.”
PAOCC considers legal action against Pasay City officials
The PAOCC is considering legal action against officials in Pasay City due to the continued operation of illegal offshore gaming operators. During a press briefing on Wednesday (February 19), Winston Casio, director and spokesperson for PAOCC, said that the southern part of Metro Manila, including Pasay, Parañaque, and Makati, remained a hotspots for illegal offshore gaming operators.
According to the Philippine News Agency, the PAOCC is gathering evidence against local government units (LGUs) after raids on offshore gaming operators in their areas and investigating whether officials might be responsible for allowing the operations to continue. Casio did not mention any probe for Parañaque or Makati.
The BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval has said that 11,254 foreign offshore gaming workers are still in the country despite the government’s order for them to leave. Sandoval said the workers are mainly from Vietnam, China, Indonesia, and Myanmar. They have been included in the BI’s derogatory records and face deportation and blacklisting.
Sandoval clarified that the figure includes only workers who used to work for legal offshore gaming operators that had to close, not operators that were always illegal.
