Philippines senator urges DOLE to be proactive in revoking permits for foreign offshore gaming workers
Sherwin Gatchalian urged a proactive approach to cancel permits and send these workers to their countries of origin.
The Philippines.- Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has called on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to take proactive measures to cancel alien employment permits (AEPs) issued to offshore gaming workers. During discussions on the DOLE’s proposed budget for 2025, Gatchalian said: “Offshore gaming operators are morphing into something else so they could stay in the country and continue their scamming activities.
“We need a very proactive approach to cancel and eventually send these workers to their country of origin and we need the entire government machinery to work together to cut the legal basis for these individuals to stay in the Philippines.”
On November 5, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. issued Executive Order (EO) 74, ordering an immediate ban on offshore gaming. The order requires offshore gaming operators and related auxiliary and ancillary services with issued licences to wind up by December 3.
The DOLE reported that it had issued around 15,819 AEPs in 2024. However, since the president’s announcement of the ban, approximately 36,000 AEPs have been revoked. The DOLE said it is collaborating with the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to make sure working visas associated with offshore gaming-related activities are terminated, preventing foreign nationals from remaining in the country illegally.
Meanwhile, Gatchalian has proposed that the Philippine National Police (PNP) be granted more funding for intelligence work to help it tackle offshore gaming operators. He said the PNP’s intelligence fund had decreased from PHP1.356bn (US$23.2m) in 2023 to PHP906.025m (US$15.5m) this year. According to the National Expenditure Program (NEP), funding for 2025 was to be PHP806.025m.
Gatchalian said: “The PNP needs funds to gather intelligence, particularly in the fight against offshore gaming operators. This is the time to support the PNP in gathering more intelligence.”
He added: “Given the President’s directive to terminate all offshore gaming operations in the country by the end of the year, law enforcement agencies such as the PNP need to double down on their efforts to flush out all offshore gaming operators, particularly those that are involved in illegal activities such as kidnap-for-ransom, human trafficking, and online scamming.”
See also: PAOCC warns of former gaming workers running scam farms
