The Philippine government authorities warn the public not to be deceived by "job opportunities" in the Southeast Asian "Golden Triangle" area, which is known as the center of many illegal activities in Asia.
The senior vice president of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor), Vicente Razon, revealed that the ban on Philippine offshore gaming operations has led to unemployment, and many Filipinos affected by this ban are now considering working for offshore gaming companies in "Golden Triangle" countries like Thailand, where they might receive higher salaries.
Vicente Razon said: "Someone texted me, saying a friend of a mother who is an employee at a Philippine offshore gaming company, they plan to go to Thailand because most of the Filipino workers in that industry are still burdened with housing and car loans. They are willing to take the risk and insist on going to work in the Golden Triangle area. Hopefully, we won't hear about local Filipinos being abused there in the future."
The Golden Triangle is located at the border area of northern Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar.
ABS-CBN television interviewed some Filipinos working in offshore gaming companies in Pasay City, Metro Manila, who said that it is easy to find work in offshore gaming companies abroad, and the salaries are higher.
An employee of an offshore gaming company in Pasay City said: "People can immediately enter the local offshore gaming companies to work."
However, Pagcor, the Department of Labor, and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission all warn that there are risks involved in working in the Golden Triangle area.
They also stated that some Filipinos rescued from offshore gaming companies in that area were victims of torture.
The chairman of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, Gilbert Cruz, added: "The Golden Triangle is dangerous. Previously, we have rescued victims of torture from that area, and not just one or two. Sometimes we rescue a group of people. The testimonies of the victims are that they actually suffered torture, it's terrifying there, and if the victims escape, they will go to the Philippine embassy in the area to seek help and thus obtain travel authorization issued by the embassy."
Gilbert Cruz also said that the workers were initially recruited online for telemarketing or online sales jobs, and then sent to work in offshore gaming companies.
"In this process, they initially recruit workers on Whatsapp, Facebook, or other online groups. Candidates are told that once they enter the industry, they will receive high salaries, they will say the candidates will work in call centers, doing telemarketing or online sales jobs, and then the candidates are surprised to find their passports confiscated when they arrive there to work, in fact, they are engaged in fraud."
Gilbert Cruz also said that they offer higher salaries, which is why many people are willing to be recruited. "The initial promised salary is over 80,000 pesos per month, and they will say that employees can also earn commissions, thus attracting a large number of candidates to work."
According to Gilbert Cruz, there are many Filipinos in the Golden Triangle area.
"There are even more Filipino workers in the Golden Triangle area of Cambodia. The Golden Triangle area includes Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and also on the border with Vietnam, especially in Myanmar, where scams exist. Usually, those who are rescued or escape there, they go through 8 or 9 checkpoints, then they board a boat, so they can cross the border to seek rescue."
According to Vicente Razon, the illegal offshore gaming industry in the Philippines earns about 300 million pesos a day, and some Filipino workers also work there.
According to the Minister of Labor, Bienvenido Laguesma, they have been coordinating with the employers of Internet Gaming License (IGL) holders to help nearly 30,000 employees affected by the ban on Philippine offshore gaming operations.
They also hold job fairs to help affected employees find new jobs.
"I want to encourage them to use job fairs to help them find alternative work outside the offshore gaming industry," Laguesma said, "I hope our compatriots working in offshore gaming companies will not be persuaded... to carefully consider before accepting a job. If they engage in illegal work, their safety and welfare will be threatened."
