SouthEast Asian team Rave Dota continue to work on resolving their immigration and visa troubles, with the continued support from a Phillipines senator and considerable media coverage.
Watch TV! @RaveDota2 is on @TVPatrol. Photo (C) nattefrost pic.twitter.com/d03B7h6Zzw
— Mineski (@Mineski) April 12, 2015
Senator Bam Aquino addressed an open letter to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to get to the root of the immigration and offloading problems that have been plaguing Team Rave for the last several weeks and try to find a potential solution.
The POEA responded by inviting the senator and the three affected team members – Mark “Cast” Pilar, Djardel “Chrissy” Mampusti and Ryo “ryOyr” Hasegawa, to a meeting ment to clarify the exact nature of their employment and professional status. During the meeting, it was explained to the department how Rave is a professional gaming team living off of tournament prize money. Despite having a contract with their South Korean sponsoring organization, they are not employees per se, due to the lack of salaries. Rave’s Korean manager, Pyung Kwon, provides the team with a gaming house and fast and stable Internet connection in South Korea.
[TeamBam] Happening Right Now: Sen. Bam in a meeting with #TeamRave here at the @senatePH. @RaveDota2 @Mineski pic.twitter.com/vkFUKgNxSp
— Bam Aquino (@bamaquino) April 13, 2015
In his open letter, Senator Bam Aquino writes:
Many ask me why I give full support to the growing online gaming industry development of the country. Significantly by the potential of this industry, it will help in the economic growth of our country. This translates to hundreds of new jobs and livelihood for our people and can provide good jobs for artists and developers. The Philippines has become one of the favorite destinations of online video gaming companies for the manufacture of new products.
The senator is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship and the Senate Committee on Youth. It is reasonable to see the connection between his involvement and his vision of local and national economic impact.
Aquino concludes, acknowledging that the events have been unfortunate so far, but not without a silver lining:
The incident served as a chance to correct their situation and documentation for their next trip will happen without offloading. Another, longer-length time in preparation for the big tournament to be held in the United States, in August. Thank you to POEA for its assistance to correct the state of our cyber athletes. I also salute the BI for ensuring that all departing and arriving in the country have the proper paperwork.
Rave’s biggest win so far is a 5th place finish at the Dota 2 Asian Championships, at approximately $150,000.
Rave Dota has qualified for The Summit 3 in Los Angeles, California, later in May. Rave is hopeful recent performances in their region will provide them with a chance of a direct invite to The International 2015.
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