ll?
j
.POGO
workers
going TNT'
By JESS D|AZ
A partyJist lawmaker yes-
terday urged the philipiine
Amusement and Gaminq
Corp. (Pagcor) io take steD;
in preventing thousands bf
Chinese natioials workine for
Philippine of fshore gariing
operators (POGOS) from tum-
ing into TNTs or
fag o nan1 tago.
TNT is Filipino slan"g f'or
overstayinB aliens or illegal
loreign workers who hide from
authorities with the intention of
Turn io page 9
i neurs
THE PHtLtPPtNE STAR
MONDAY I OCTOBER i4, 2Ol9
POGO FromPase,
$mm#f{:3iTftS""mtm
living permanently in their host counhies. documents to tens of thousands o{ pOGO
Rep. Ronnie Ong of Ang Probinsiyano persormel..
said he received infonhation that thousands Ong added that the issuance of IDs to
of Chinese POGO workers have abandoned POGdworkers would also make the job of
their jobs to go TNL tax collectors easier.
- He said the Bureau.of lmmigration has ,,We
are allowirg these ITOCOS to oper-
deported hundrcds ofthesg illegalrcsidents. ate here because wl want more revenues.
* $q sai{ ortg way to distinguish Chinese Their Chinese and otherforeignemployees
is-
TNIs. ftom legal workers_is_fo_r_Pagcor to come here to worlg so they shdr;ld piytaxes
sue iderrtification cards to IOGO ernployees. as everyone else,,, he str6ssed.
piacti-
'These foreign workers canbe seeir Ong also suqqesred that the workers be
calJy eveqgwhere. There areeven placeswhere requirid to pas-s-an online examination on
you would think you are in China I suggest pr6per behjvior, since there is ,,a risins oc-
tl-nt tt-rryugh PaScor these ITOC,O employees currence of Chinese rntionals behaving"very
should be fully documented and idinrified badlv especiallv when drurk.,,
not only for the good of the-couqby but also ninan'ce Secr6tarv Carlos Dominguez has
fortlreir own pmtection"" he added. estimated that the iountry is Iosiniat least
Ong pointed out that workers wiihout p20 billion in taxes ftom i'OGOs ira their
identifying documents be considered illegal foreign personnel .
or overstaying a4! should be deported. Tie House ofRepresentatives intends to
., He said fOGO persgqet conld. protect pass a bill on taxing offshc.e garning inves-
themselves hom extortionists by showing tors and their workers.
their Pagcor identi-
fication doctrmmts. tt lc{q€,1 t
Ong, vice chair-
man of the House
committee on garnes
and amusernenl not-
ed that Pagmr issues
€rnplo)'mentpemits
and IDs to industry
workers, except
IrOGO employes.
FIe said the sfate
gaming agency