Photo courtesy of PAGCOR.
QUEZON CITY (PIA) — The government continues to offer alternative jobs and livelihood opportunities for Filipinos that will be affected by the closure of all Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) firms by yearend, according to the Department of Labor and Employment.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., in his 3rd State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July, ordered the stop of all POGO operations by the end of the year.
During the September 25 episode of the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon aired on PTV 4, Director Patrick Patriwirawan Jr. of the DOLE – Bureau of Local Employment said job fairs, as well as initial capital, equipment, and training for livelihood ventures, are among the measures that the agency has prepared for the affected workers.
Patriwirawan Jr. said, “Mula po sa direktiba ng ating pangulo at ng ating kalihim Bienvenido Laguesma, ang ating mga regional offices ay nakapagsimula na po ng profiling ng 40,962 na workers mula sa nai-submit na data ng PAGCOR. Ang total po na workers kasama ang foreign nationals ay 79,735. Bilang pag-prayoridad po, ang tinututukan lang natin ay yung mga Pilipinong manggagawa na umaabot sa 40,962.”
(Based on the directive of our president, Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., and our secretary, Bienvenido Laguesma, our regional offices have already started the profiling of 40,962 workers from the data submitted by the PAGCOR. The total number of workers including foreign nationals is 79,735. For our priorities, we will just concentrate on the Filipino workers that total of 40,962.)
According to the DOLE, most of the Filipino POGO workers perform administrative tasks and encoding, some of whom are employed in the finance, information technology, and housekeeping sections.
Patriwirawan Jr. said their regional offices have already profiled 27,747 Filipino workers, consisting of 19,754 workers profiled in Metro Manila, 142 in Region III or Central Luzon, 7,837 in Calabarzon, and 14 in Region VII or Central Visayas.
“Ang kagawaran ay may sinusunod na framework o balangkas kung saan pagka magkakaroon ng disruption sa labor market, sinisimulan natin ang pagpo-profile ng mga workers. Matapos nating ma-profile ang mga workers, meron tayong lineup or menu ng mga services na mga binibigay sa kanila, katulad ng sa pamamagitan ng ating mga public employment service offices,” he added.
(The DOLE follows a framework wherein whenever there is a disruption in the labor market, we start profiling the workers. Once they are profiled, we provide them a lineup or a menu of services that they can avail of, such as those through public employment service offices.)
He said the DOLE is set to hold in October a job fair to offer Filipino POGO workers alternative job opportunities in the industries of Business Process Outsourcing and Information Technology (BPO/IT), hospitality, tourism, general services, wholesale, and retail, among others, being offered by the 70 companies that are participating in the job fair.
Patriwirawan Jr. has invited interested applicants to register for free at philjobnet.gov.ph, the DOLE’s online job portal.
He added that they will offer employment facilitation services such as job matching and placements, as well as career development support for those who want to upskill through agencies such as the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
The displaced workers can also avail of entrepreneurship development programs. The government will be providing up to P30,000 as initial capital, as well as equipment and training, for those who want to start their own businesses, he said. (PIA-DMD)
