Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan expressed strong support for a Senate resolution that will urge President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to ban online gambling.
Citing the social costs of online gambling, the senator made a manifestation during the plenary session on Wednesday, July 30, comparing online gambling to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), which the President banned last year.
“I share and I’m inclined to support the position taken by Senator Zubiri on the ban of online gambling rather than to regulate it,” the senator said. “In the 18th Congress, I actually voted against the taxing of POGOs precisely because of the social costs.”
“So, if we banned POGO because of its impact and the social costs… I see no reason why gambling affecting our own population, our own citizens, should not share the same fate,” he added.
After confirming that a presidential decree—and not legislation—alone is needed to revoke some 71 online gambling licenses that have so far been issued by PAGCOR, Pangilinan shared that a resolution is currently being drafted to urge President Marcos and PAGCOR to declare a total ban on online gambling.
“We thank Senator Zubiri for his advocacy. We share his sense of urgency as to the ill effects and the horrible social costs that our people are made to go through because of online gambling,” the senator said.
He made the same remark in an interview on ANC’s Headstart on Tuesday, July 29, after President Marcos failed to declare an online gambling ban during his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday.
“Ang posisyon ko diyan ay kung hindi kaya i-regulate, i-ban na kasi paano mo ire-regulate, halimbawa, yung telepono. Online gambling sa telepono. So, sana yung ginawa nya sa POGO, sana ganon din ang ano nya sa online gambling,” he told journalist Karen Davila.
The senator shrugged off the revenue generated by online gambling companies, pointing out instead that this was the same argument used to defend the presence of POGOs before they were banned.
“Look where it (POGO) brought us. So, online gambling, e-sabong, etcetera. The social costs far outweigh the revenue,” Pangilinan said.