'Take a stand on online gambling'
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FORMER House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano urged presidential aspirants to speak up against e-sabong and other forms of online gambling, saying these have been worsening social ills in the country.
"The people should know as early as now where they stand on the issue. Speak up now. If you were elected President, will you accept e-sabong or will you shut it down? Don't surprise us after the election," Cayetano said and commended presidential aspirant Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson for taking a stand against e-sabong.
Cayetano noted that Lacson took a stand against e-sabong and other forms of online gambling, which he said are tearing families apart and worsening social ills in the country.
He also expressed gratitude to the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches and various religious and faith-based groups, including the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, for actively opposing attempts to grant e-sabong franchises.
He said the House Committee on Ways and Means had earlier approved House Bill No. 10204 that aims to grant Visayas Cockers Club Inc. a 25-year franchise to operate offsite betting stations anywhere in the country.
Cayetano said that if the bill gets passed on third and final reading, Visayas Cockers Club Inc. will be the second licensed e-sabong operator in the country to be granted a 25-year franchise, following Lucky 8 Star Quest Inc. whose franchise was approved last September.
Urging the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, and state-run schools to oppose e-sabong and online gambling, the former house speaker said the measures passed by Congress will endanger previous efforts to restore the teaching of good manners and right conduct in schools and among young people.
He said Congress passed the Good Manners and Right Conduct bill but then when children are brought to school, they might see the driver, the school guard, or even their teachers engaging in e-sabong.
"At home, their brother or father might be engaged in the same practice," Cayetano said, adding that e-sabong and other forms of online gambling are far more addictive and accessible for young people than physical forms of gambling.
He also cited data from the World Health Organization which showed that commercial gambling has triggered worse risks than diabetes and drug addiction, ruining families and communities in the process.
He said it is different when one is on the internet or using a cellphone from physical gaming or gambling institutions such as casinos, bingo, lotto and cockfighting which are subject to regulations. "But when it's online, it's very addictive."
