Cebu City closely watching call centers on POGO ban

CEBU: Business process outsourcing (BPO) or call centers in this capital city will undergo scrutiny to ensure that none are operating as Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs). Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia said he is set to form a task force that will check every call center here to ensure it operates within its intended purpose and not as an online gaming enabler. Garcia said he decided to organize a task force following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s directive during his 3rd State of the Nation Address (SONA) to ban all forms of POGO operations in the country. The task force will include members from the Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO), headed by Terence Saavedra, and the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), with its new director, Col. Antonietto Cañete, who assumed office last week. 'The Cebu City police and the city government will have to work together to check out all legal businesses registered under BPO or BPM (Business Process Management) call centers,' Garcia told the Philipp ine News Agency. Garcia said the BPLO and the city police will set the parameters for checking out all the call centers operating in the city. "They (BPLO and CCPO) will randomly check on these BPOs or call centers just to make sure that everything is above board, and they have the license to operate,' the acting mayor said. Garcia said he wants to ensure that no call center uses its business as a platform for online gaming operations. "There are illegal POGO-like businesses operating in Cebu, not only in Cebu City but also in other areas, disguised as call centers or BPOs. That's why we are looking into those aspects,' Garcia added. Source: Philippines News Agency