Thousands of Filipino workers in the online gaming industry opposed calls by big business groups to phase out Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations and their service providers.
Pinoy sa POGO, in a statement, called the business organizations advocating for the closure of POGOs due to alleged “social costs” as “elitists” and “anti-poor.”
Karen Santa Cruz, one of the officers of the POGO workers’ association, said rich businessmen did not care about the poor who would lose their jobs. “They’ve never experienced hunger or lack of money to send their children to school so they don’t care about us,” Santa Cruz said.
She said the real ‘social cost’ is massive unemployment if government would shut down POGOs and their service providers that employ thousands of Filipinos as encoders, dealers, housekeeping staff, drivers, cooks and waiters.
“The worst insult is to deprive us of dignity and cause family separation when we are again forced to seek work abroad,” Santa Cruz said.