INTRAMUROS, Manila — With the just a week to go for the December 31 deadline on the cessation of operations of all Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in the country, some 7,000 POGO foreign workers are expected to leave the country after their 9G or working stay were downgraded to tourist visas.

According to Bureau of Immigration (BI) spokesperson Dana Sandoval said in a public briefing the said number are among the 33,000 foreigners who worked in the closed POGO HUBS operating in several areas across the country that have been ordered to cease operations.

Most of them or 21,000 have also already downgraded their working visas.

Immigration commissioner Joel Anthony Viado had earlier urged the foreign nationals to voluntarily leave the country or else face deportation and blacklisting.

“If they have reason to come back to the Philippines, they should comply with the regulations,” Sandoval advised.

In his State of the Nation Address (SoNA) last July, President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. announced a total ban on POGOs, giving them until the end of the year to wrap-up their operations.

The President made the drastic move against POGO after the emergence of its links to illegal activities like human trafficking and illegal drug proliferation as well risks to national security following reports that some of its operators are suspected to be involved in espionage.