{"id":777011293,"date":"2023-11-21T06:47:21","date_gmt":"2023-11-21T09:47:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777011293"},"modified":"2026-04-22T15:23:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T18:23:51","slug":"dole-starts-probe-into-employment-permits-for-pogo-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/dole-starts-probe-into-employment-permits-for-pogo-workers","title":{"rendered":"DOLE starts probe into employment permits for POGO workers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Philippine Department of Labor and Employment has begun an investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>The Philippines.- The Philippine Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has initiated an investigation into<strong>\u00a0the Alien Employment Permits (AEPs)\u00a0<\/strong>granted to foreign nationals employed in POGOs.\u00a0DOLE undersecretary\u00a0<strong>Benjo Benavidez<\/strong>\u00a0announced the inquiry during the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon to determine whether AEPs issued to POGO workers should be revoked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some 42,000 foreign POGO workers hold AEPs. Benavidez said the review was essential. He said: &#8220;Ideally, these legally issued AEPs must be used properly and correctly. If these POGO workers issued AEPs are found engaged in illegal activities, these are subject to revocation or cancellation. That is the directive of our secretary.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Senator Win Gatchalian had\u00a0urged the\u00a0<strong>Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)\u00a0<\/strong>to\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/philippine-senator-urges-crackdown-on-tin-id-issuance-to-pogos\" target=\"_blank\">tighten control over the issuance of tax identification number (TIN) IDs<\/a>.\u00a0He said offshore gambling operators were obtaining TIN IDs to legitimise the employment status of workers involved in criminal activities. Gatchalian, who chairs the\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/philippine-senate-committee-recommends-shutdown-of-pogos\" target=\"_blank\">Senate Committee on Ways and Means<\/a>, has been pushing for the POGO industry to be shut down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>See also:&nbsp;<\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/philippines-calls-for-inquiry-into-banking-platforms-with-links-to-gambling-apps\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Philippines: calls for inquiry into banking platforms with links to gambling apps<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Philippine Department of Labor and Employment has begun an investigation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":777008064,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"The Philippine Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has initiated an investigation into Alien Employment Permits (AEPs) held by approximately 42,000 foreign POGO workers, with potential revocations for those engaged in illegal activities. This inquiry aligns with Senator Win Gatchalian's broader efforts to tighten controls on tax identification numbers (TIN IDs) for offshore gambling operators and his advocacy for the complete shutdown of the POGO industry due to links with criminal activities.","focusai_entities":"Philippine Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Benjo Benavidez, Senator Win Gatchalian, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Senate Committee on Ways and Means","focusai_location":"Philippines","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (0.9), investor_analyst (0.9), supplier_vendor (0.8), journalist_researcher (1.0)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"POGO Industry Outlook","query":"What is the projected timeline for DOLE's AEP investigation, and what specific criteria will determine the revocation of permits for POGO workers, impacting operational continuity?"},{"label":"Regulatory Enforcement Impact","query":"How might the BIR's tightened control over TIN ID issuance and Senator Gatchalian's push for a POGO shutdown impact the broader regulatory compliance burden for other iGaming verticals in the Philippines?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[157,16333],"tags":[4138],"class_list":["post-777011293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","category-south-east-asia-news","tag-online-gambling"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777011293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777011293"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777011293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777040926,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777011293\/revisions\/777040926"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777008064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777011293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777011293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777011293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}