Mahigit sa US$25 bilyong dolyar ang nawawala bukod sa dalawang milyong manggagawang Pilipino ang namimiligrong mawalan ng trabaho kapag nagpatuloy ang pamamayagpag ng Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators o POGO sa bansa nang walang tamang regulasyon, ayon kay Senador Joel Villanueva.
Nagbabala si Villanueva na siyang chairman ng Senate committee on Labor na posibleng mamatay ang Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) o mas kilalang call center industry kapag nag-alisan ito sa bansa dahil na rin sa patuloy na paglawak ng operasyon ng POGO na siyang ‘kumakain’ dumagsang mga real estate property.
“Another great concern is our business process outsourcing industry is suffering from the expansion of this POGO operations because of the rise of real estate properties, the space–office space. A tendency of a real property bubble,” sabi pa ni Villanueva sa ekslusibong panayam ng online news site Politiko.
Wala umanong malaking naitutulong ang mga POGO company na pinatatakbo ng mga Chinese national sa bansa.
“I do not see any advantage with this particular sector because: Number one-they are not hiring Filipinos, number two-that are not paying taxes, number three-this in an industry that will not have a greater multiplier effect to the economy,” lahad pa ng senador.
Ipinaliwanag ni Villanueva na ang BPO industry ay nakapagbigay ng P1.5 milyong tarabaho sa mga Pilipino sa mga nakalipas na taon.
“These are direct jobs we are talking about, 1.5 mllion jobs. They are giving us about P25 billion a year, almost close to the remittances of our OFWs. That is the BPO sector. Now, we hurting them with this, this POGO industry,” sabi pa ni Villanueva.
“We may be collecting taxes but also killing other industries that actually greater multiplier,” paliwanag nito.
“So, I’ve been cautioning the government—the different agencies of the government from the Bureay of Immigraiton to the Bureau of Internal Revenue to the Department of Labor and Employment . I think it is not right.
I don’t think all of us here in the Philippines would like to earn the reputation that we are the sin city of China,” ani pa nito.
Batay sa opisyal na record, nasa 17% lang ng mga Pilipino ang nagtatrabaho sa mga POGO companies at ang iba ay pawang mga dayuhan na karamihan ay mga Chinese national. (Nancy Carvajal)