Vice President Sara Duterte said on Saturday, July 19, that she is against online gambling, citing its impact on minors and families.
Vice President Sara Duterte speaks before supporters of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, and their family in front of the International Criminal Court in The Hague on Saturday, July 19, 2025. (Photo from Alvin & Tourism via Facebook)
“I am against online gambling. So hindi ako sang-ayon sa lahat ng klase na pagsusugal online dahil hindi nakokontrol ng mga magulang ang akses ng kanilang mga anak diyan sa internet (I do not agree with any form of online gambling because parents cannot control their children’s access to the internet),” she said during a media interview in The Hague, Netherlands.
The official lamented how gambling was made “easy” by making it accessible online, and how families get into large debts because of it.
“At napakadali, ginawang pinakamadali ang magsugal sa online para madaling makuha ang pera ng mga tao (And it’s so easy, they made online gambling so easy to make it easy to get money from the people, too),” she added.
Rather, Duterte shared that she is amenable to regulated gambling since not everyone can access these venues and be able to place a bet.
“Pero kapag nilagay mo siya online na hindi na natin nakokontrol kung sino yung makapagbukas ng account para mag-ano --- magsugal, ay hindi ko sang-ayon doon dahil nakakasira ng pamilya yun at nakakasira ng kinabukasan ng kabataan (But if you make it online, we cannot control who can open accounts to gamble, so I do not agree because it ruins families and the futures of the youth),” she stressed.
Bills have been filed in the Senate seeking to ban online gambling in the country, with civil society groups and religious leaders backing anti-online gambling calls because of the social ills it brings.
President Marcos, however, has yet to issue an official stance on whether he will impose an outright ban on online gambling, similar to his order to close Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) last year.