Senate hearing on online gambling set for Aug. 14

Metro Manila, Philippines - The Senate will open the investigation into the effects of online gambling and hear proposals, mostly calling for its ban.

Sen. Erwin Tulfo, who chairs the Senate committee on games and amusement, announced that he will lead the committee hearings on Thursday, Aug. 14.

“I made a commitment to prioritize these bills kasi lumalala ang problema. It's a crisis na, eh,” Tulfo said in a statement on Sunday, Aug. 10. “So, talagang kailangan aksyunan na ito, to solve this problem.”

[Translation: I made a commitment to prioritize these bills because the problem is worsening. It’s already a crisis. This needs to be addressed to solve the problem.]

Tulfo wants a total ban on online gambling, but he said he will first hear the positions of government agencies such as the Philippine Amusement Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) and the Department of Finance (DOF) regarding outrightly declaring it illegal.

Tulfo’s committee hearing will be joined by four other panels: Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies; Youth; Economic Affairs; and Ways and Means.

The inquiry will tackle three bills that proposed for a ban, another bill that sought regulation, as well as three resolutions and a privilege speech on the ill effects of the online gambling industry.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., on the other hand, already said that a ban will not take care of the problem, adding a measured response is needed.

Marcos said he has called a “conclave” to hear various sectors regarding the online gambling issue. These sectors include the Catholic Bishops’s Conference of the Philippines, addiction experts, parents and teachers, and the police.