Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 25) – Two priority measures listed by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council reached the Senate plenary on Tuesday.
The legislative measures are Senate Bill No. 2234, establishing the Department of Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos, and Senate Bill No. 2232, which creates a tax regime for Philippine offshore gaming operators.
In his sponsorship speech, Senator Joel Villanueva clarified the proposed department does not encourage Filipinos to leave the country.
“By putting eight government agencies and offices under one roof and one head does not mean a shift to embracing labor-export as a policy, but plainly a shift to improve collaborative governance from the ad-hoc services it creates,” said Villanueva.
Villanueva hopes the bill will address the problems of recruitment, red tape, regulation, emergency response, repatriation and reintegration among OFWs.
Under the proposed measure, the department will absorb the powers and functions of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. Eight agencies will be merged to form part of the department, including the Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs, the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices, and the International Labor Affairs Bureau.
In a committee hearing last May 10, some senators questioned the need to integrate the said agencies into one department.
The bill also mandates the secretary and other key officials of the proposed department to have experience in governance related to OFW concerns, or have been migrant workers themselves.
Meanwhile, Senator Pia Cayetano emphasized that taxing POGOs is a must because of their potential as a high source of revenue for the government. Data from the Bureau of Internal Revenue show that collection from POGOs last year amounted to ₱7.18 billion, which is around 11% higher than the ₱6.42 billion collected in 2019.
“The Philippine government could have collected more than ₱38 billion in 2019 alone (from POGOs), far from the actual collection of BIR,” Cayetano said in her sponsorship speech.
The proposed bill provides that all offshore gaming licensees, whether Philippine or foreign-based, must pay a 5% gaming tax on their gross gaming revenue or receipts from gaming operations.
The Supreme Court earlier issued a temporary restraining order against the 5% franchise tax on POGOs.
