As the 2020 session begins in the Philippine legislature, the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment, and Human Resources Development has made the investigation of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) a major priority This according to the chairman of the committee.

In a recent phone conversation with media outlets in the country, Senator Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva explained that the committee has concerns about the way that these offshore gaming establishments have been operating, and has dedicated his committee to conducting a full “inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the unusual influx of illegal foreign workers in the country, especially in the POGO and POGO-related industry.”

Recent statistics provided by the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) reported that 111,583 Alien Employment Permits were issued this past year. Of that number, 83,764 were issued specifically to POGO related businesses. The DoLE also added that of the 118,239 registered workers involved within these operations, 97,283 are foreign workers. This, as of December 10.

The committee will not only be looking into these numbers but has concerns about unregistered POGO employees as well. The committee was authorized under Senate Resolution No. 67, which was filed near the end of last year, to investigate not only the industry’s failure to provide proper documentation for employees but also on the failure to remit the proper amount of taxes to the country’s Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).