Allegedly ignored in the House of Representatives, the Catholic church and other religious groups seeking the rejection of bills legalizing E-sabong and other forms of internet gambling may find solace from the Senate leadership.
This was gathered after Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III and Senator Panfilo Lacson vowed to slow down the processing of bills granting legislative franchises to Lucky 8 Star Quest Inc. and Visayas Cockers Club Inc. , firms involved in on-line cockfight betting operations.
Sotto and Lacson vowed a thorough study of the two measures, noting that there have been strong opposition registered by various groups, including the religious.
Lacson, who is seeking the presidency under the Partido Reporma party, also pointed out that there can be legal controversy on whether or not Congress can grant a legislative franchise to entities that are not considered “public utilities.”
Sotto, his running mate and official vice presidential bet of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, warned that on-line games can be manipulated.
Deputy Speaker and CIBAC Partylist Rep. Bro. Eddie Villanueva and former speaker and Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano lamented that the swift passage of the measures before the House Committee on Legislative Franchises.
Their appeals for plenary debates on franchise application of Lucky 8 Start Quest Inc. were not granted when the House leadership decided to pass the bill on third and final reading last September.
The Visayas Cockers franchise breezed through committee approval and appeared headed for swift passage on the plenary.
Catholic Church leaders decried the actions taken by the Lower House, pointing out that government’s bid to make money from gambling will have adverse effects on the country’s youth and the Filipino family.
On the other hand, Villanueva, who heads the Jesus is Lord group, called on his followers not to vote for candidates who support e-sabong.
Lacson agreed with religious groups the E-sabong and other forms of gambling being propagated by government could trigger “deeper social problems” .
He noted that with electronic payment systems readily available now, even the youth could bet on online cockfights, which has become a “borderless” situation as even OFWs have been patronizing local betting games.
Lacson and Sotto also aired doubts that on-line gambling operations such as E-sabong can be covered by legislative franchises granted by Congress since these are not “public utility”.
The opinion of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) should also be sought, Lacson said, as once e-sabong gains a congressional license, it would lose its regulatory powers over the activity.
“Dapat ‘yung mga OFWs natin, kasi alam mo borderless ito e, puro online ito e, tataya wala nang maipadala doon sa kanilang mga pamilya rito kasi natatalo doon sa (Our OFWs need protection. Since this activity is borderless and always online, OFWs would keep betting without leaving anything to send back to their families here because they lost it (on e-sabong).” Lacson explained during a recent press conference.
Sotto agreed with Lacson’s position, adding that there is no assurance that cheating may occur in playing internet games as these can be easily manipulated.