For some Pagcor employees, change hasn’t come since 1986

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) is a billion-peso enterprise. A cash cow.

The campaign slogan of then President Duterte is “Change is coming.” If change is indeed coming, it is too slow for the thousands of Pagcor employees.  Some of them—and they are many I tell you—were hired in 1986 and never got a promotion. OMG, that’s really a long time! Maybe some increases in pay, but peanuts compared to the billions the corporation is earning annually.

Pagcor employees talk in whispers. They resent the management style of the past leadership. The big bosses enjoyed perks, privileges and high salaries. The workers? Pittance. It is quite ironic. Also the employees are asking if they are classified as government workers or not.

If they are, why don’t they get coverage from the Government Service and Insurance System? The deductions on their pay envelopes, aside from the mandatory 20-percent cut of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, go to Social Security System, the insurer for workers employed by private firms.

Now with Chair Andrea Domingo holding the rein at Pagcor, the rank and file are hoping they will ultimately get the promotion and pay they deserve. And by the way, smoking in the casinos, whether operated by Pagcor or privately run, should be prohibited. The casino workers mostly dealing on baccarat tables absorb most the second-hand smoke.

MAX L. SANGIL, [email protected]