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Update on POGO, SWP: Sen. Joel Villanueva, during the second day of the deliberation of the proposed P5.268-trillion national budget for 2023 Thursday, November 10, 2022, requests officials of the Bureau of Immigration to submit a report on the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) as well as an update on the issuance of the Special Working Permits (SWP). Villanueva said he and Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda made a provision in the General Appropriations Act to safeguard the power of Congress and to ensure that immigration officials would not abuse the issuance of the SWP. A SWP is a permit option for foreigners who are planning on short-term assignments or employment for up to six months in the Philippines. Villanueva said foreigners, particularly Chinese nationals, would apply for a SWP after a week or two after arriving in the country as tourists. Villanueva also asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) of the unfilled positions in their agency. Although DOJ has only 897 unfilled positions and 509 job orders, Villanueva said nationwide, there are about 170,668 unfilled positions. “One out of 10 positions in the government are still unfilled despite the fact that I rise here every year and raise this particular issue,” he lamented. (Albert Calvelo/Senate PRIB)