PAGCOR grants PHP50 million for deportation of illegal POGO workers
The Philippine Bureau of Immigration will receive a PHP50 million (US$885,000)1 PHP = 0.0177 USD
2025-07-03Powered by CMG CurrenShift grant to support its efforts to deport illegal gambling workers.
The grant comes from the country’s gambling regulator, PAGCOR, and is aimed at helping to secure the removal of workers employed illegally by what are known as POGOS or Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators.
The money, which will be paid in two installments, will be used to cover the costs of repatriating foreign nationals detained at the Bureau of Immigration’s Warden Facility and Protection Unit.
The grant follows Tuesday’s signing of a memorandum of agreement by Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado and the Chief Executive of PAGCOR, Alejandro Tengco.
Speaking about the agreement, Tengco outlined the importance of the funding, “These individuals are unable to return to their home countries because they cannot afford a plane ticket. This grant will ensure they receive assistance in accordance with international laws and humanitarian considerations.”
Viado welcomed the grant from PAGCOR and said that it would boost efforts to repatriate undocumented immigrants, particularly those working in the illegal gambling sector.
The agreement is also in line with the directive issued by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to increase efforts to enforce Executive Order No.74 in 2024, which outlawed the operations of offshore gaming companies in the Philippines.
Dig deeper
2025/04/01: Philippine crackdown on POGOs halted while 947 POGO workers wait for deportation
2025/06/18: PAGCOR launches site to tackle illegal gaming
2025/03/25: Philippines’ Bureau of Immigration bans layover flights for POGO fugitives
2025/05/20: PAGCOR chairman calls for collaboration to fight gambling addiction
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