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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider SC justice laments 'unequal treatment' of gambling violators

SC justice laments 'unequal treatment' of gambling violators

Published Jul 10, 2025 03:47 pm
The law to combat gambling, “a social menace that dissipates the energy and resources of people,” has lost its meaning since “gambling is regularly done in casinos and is condoned by the government mandated to eradicate it.”
This was the lament of Supreme Court (SC) Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen who pointed out: “As it is structured, the law targets only the poor, or those who do not have enough resources to play in the government's casinos. This unequal treatment of offenders on the basis of wealth is a blatant violation of the social justice clause.”
Leonen cited that the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) operates 10 major casinos all over the country, as well as mini-casinos, slot machine arcades and its PAGCOR clubs.
He said that as of Dec. 31, 2021, the income remitted by PAGCOR from table games, electronic gaming machines, bingo operations, eSabong operations, licensed casinos, and offshore gaming operations amounted to P32,631,536,964.00 with P2,971,237,597.55 remained uncollected from Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations.
“The message from this is clear: the State will condone a social menace for so long as profit can be had from it but will not hesitate to punish its citizens if there is none,” he also said.
Leonen’s laments were aired as a concurring opinion in a decision that acquitted two individuals accused of illegal gambling due to the arresting officers’ failure to provide specific details of the gambling activity.
The decision, written by Associate Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier, reversed the conviction and acquitted Robert B. Plan and Mark Oliver D. Enolva.
The metropolitan trial court (MeTC), the regional trial court (RTC), and the Court of Appeals (CA) convicted Plan and Enolva of illegal gambling under Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1602.
In filing the case, the police said the duo were caught playing cara y cruz – a coin-toss betting game – after receiving a tip from a concerned citizen.
The MeTC found them guilty and meted out a three-year prison term. The RTC, however, reduced the penalty to 30 days imprisonment. The CA affirmed the RTC’s ruling.
In acquitting them, the SC ruled that the evidence against them was not sufficient as the police failed to prove that the accused were actually placing bets.
It said that while the officers claimed to have seen the pot money on the floor, they could not confirm the denomination of the bills.
The SC pointed out that for a gambling conviction to hold, the arresting officer must present clear and specific details of the gambling operations, including the identification of the players, the game being played, the person taking bets, and the actual money used.
It said: “The arresting officers must not only have seen the suspected bettors place their bets. They must testify with certainty on the details of the entire gambling operation, including but not limited to the alleged game being played, the identification of the person administering the bets as well as the identification of the bettors, and the denomination of money being bet.”
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