That “we are doomed — unless we wake up,” as Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David had warned, should be enough to jolt us into deep reflection on how come it has been easier to foster gambling addiction than to build a society with dignity and moral clarity.

Instead of forging paths toward purposeful livelihood, why has greed been allowed to define our economy? Instead of a predatory system that lures Filipinos into vice, why not pursue the kind that sees beyond revenues and never loses sight of what truly matters: A generation that still believes in a future built on hard work, not on luck.

Many Filipino families have been torn apart as breadwinners gamble away savings, pawn household items, and incur mounting debts just to recover gambling losses. Children of gambling addicts often suffer neglect, emotional trauma, and insecurity.

Studies reveal that “two out of three gambling addicts will engage in illegal acts to pay for their gambling debts” and that for every troubled gambler, “at least 10 other family members, friends, and colleagues are also directly affected,” all dragged into the same downward spiral an addicted gambler undergoes.

Suicides and violence are also common consequences of compulsive gambling. One of the most gruesome events happened in 2017 where a lone gunman, depressed by a ₱4 million gambling debt at the time of the tragedy, went on a burning shooting and rampage, killing 37 people at the casino before shooting himself dead.

The link between gambling and crime is also undeniable. Stories of theft, fraud, and even murder tied to gambling have become all too common. Most chilling of them are the still unresolved cases of missing sabungeros which have been tossed into the limelight anew.

It’s all about money, very huge sums of money. Whether legal or illegal gambling, the huge profits from its operations can be mind-boggling. The easy money derived, especially from illegal gambling in which jueteng is most common, has kept operators and financiers fighting tooth and nail to sustain the multi-billion industry.

I’ve always been against illegal gambling, knowing fully well its adverse effects — how the poor get poorer, how public officials absorbed by the system of corruption lose moral ascendancy, how productivity and economic growth is hampered in communities where illegal gambling is rampant, and many more.

Modesty aside, people who know me are aware of my uncompromising stand. No less than Sen. Panfilo Lacson, when he was PNP chief, vouched for my unflinching resolve against illegal gambling when I was Laguna governor. Even former Gov. Chavit Singson, the star witness in the Erap impeachment case, mentioned me when asked in Congress if he knew of any local official who he was sure never partook of any jueteng payola.

Countless efforts to clamp down on jueteng seem no match for the ferocity by which those behind it fight back with utter viciousness. I should know; I’ve personally experienced how ruthless they can be. Let me retell what I narrated in a 2017 column:

Though it was widely known I was against illegal gambling, those behind jueteng in Laguna province still tried to get my imprimatur when I began my first term as governor in 1995. They got some mayors to meet my provincial administrator and relay the message that I’d get ₱2 million a month if jueteng operations were unhampered.

The gambling lords even tried to give me a gift of a brand new SUV driven by a pretty lady to tempt me into acceptance and soften my stand on jueteng. But their efforts went nowhere. All they got from me was a stern rebuke. I intensified anti-gambling operations and made sure negligent and erring police officials were sacked.

But the jueteng operators didn’t give up. After six months, they again made an offer they thought I simply could not refuse. Instead of ₱2 million, they offered ₱4 million a month, or ₱48 million a year. On top of that, I’ll be given ₱10 million in “goodwill” money. It seemed irresistible. Still, I was adamant: No deal!

When efforts to buy me failed and the anti-jueteng drive intensified further, the gambling lords changed tactics. Death threats came. It was a good thing that then DILG Secretary Ronnie Puno made available a bullet-proof SUV for my use. It gave me some peace of mind.

But their ruthlessness didn’t end with death threats. There were also relentless efforts to harm my reputation with nasty rumors they spread about me and my family. They even tried to implicate my eldest son — who was then 13 years old — to jueteng.

When I later became DILG Secretary and in a position to effectively fight illegal gambling nationwide, the vicious black propaganda being waged against me increased. Gambling lords from all over had joined forces in a desperate attempt to weaken my resolve. So vicious were the assaults on my integrity and also that of my kin; they even accused my late brother Bert of involvement in jueteng.

Still, I didn’t succumb to the viciousness and ruthlessness. As DILG chief and ex-officio chairman of Napolcom, I made sure anti-jueteng operations continued. I did not hesitate relieving from their posts several police generals and other ranking officers who failed to curb illegal gambling within their jurisdiction.

Those who are really serious in battling this social menace may face the same viciousness and ruthlessness I endured. I hope they remain steadfast in their resolve to rid the country of this evil. ([email protected])