DOLE setting up one-stop shop in POGO hubs

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is setting up one-stop shops to accommodate the rising number of foreign nationals seeking employment at Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) companies.

Dominique Tutay, DOLE’s Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) director, said the department intends to put up one-stop shops at POGO companies in the National Capital Region (NCR), Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, Central Visayas and Davao regions.

“We are putting up one-stop shops to fast-track the surge of alien employment permit (AEP) applications, particularly those employed by the POGOs,” Tutay noted.

Tutay said the one-stop shops will be manned by personnel from DOLE and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

“We will invite the Department of Trade and Industry to join business related transactions such as business registration so as to ease doing business concerns,” she added.

At this time, Tutay said DOLE is in the process of hiring additional inspectors to enable them to check more POGO firms in the country, as earlier reported by Labor Secrertary Silvestre Bello.

DOLE has recorded a 143 percent increase, from 21,320 to 51,696, in the number of AEP issuance during the first semester of the year compared to the same period last year.

The NCR accounted for the biggest number of AEPs issued with 40,960, followed by Central Luzon with 4,426.

DOLE data showed that of the 205 POGOs service providers, 199 are situated in Metro Manila.