Online gambling undermines Filipino youth - Cayetano

PHILIPPINES, August 14 - Press Release
August 14, 2025

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday appealed to the Senate to carefully consider its stance on online gambling, emphasizing the government's trillion-peso investment in education and warning that normalization of gambling and addiction undermines Filipino youth.

"I don't take it against the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to raise funds, regulate gambling operators, and look into all kinds of gambling and gaming kasi iyan ang trabaho nila. But to regulate the illegal side, this is where the balance of government comes in," the senator said in his opening statement during an August 14, 2025 joint public hearing on online gambling.

"If PAGCOR and the Department of Finance are mostly looking at the revenue side, where is the rest of the government?" he added.

Cayetano, chair of the Senate Banks, Financial Institutions, and Currencies Committee, highlighted the City of Taguig's strict anti-gambling ordinance as a model.

"Taguig is blessed in the late 1990s because we passed an ordinance na bawal ang lahat ng klase ng sugal. When Mayor Lani (Cayetano) became Taguig mayor in 2010, wala po kaming casino. Nilabanan po namin iyan. Personally, I was one who put into law na sa local government, kailangan silang pumayag (sa sugalan). Pati po sabungan at bingo, hindi na namin binigyan ng lisensya," he explained.

The senator said the city's ban aims to instill the values of hard work and financial stewardship in Taguigeño youth.

"This is part of teaching our young people to work hard and have the right values, and that every single peso that God gives them needs to be managed well," he said.

Cayetano pointed out the irony that while traditional modes of gambling — even small-scale games organized during wakes to raise funds for the bereaved — are regulated, online gambling operates with little oversight.

"Nakumbinse na namin na kapag may patay, huwag nang magsugal tulad ng sakla, terembe, monte o anuman ang hilig na sugal before. Andiyan na kasi ang Department of Social Welfare and Development at local government na tumutulong sa panglibing," he said.

He noted that even minor gambling activities like cara y cruz are raided by Taguig police, yet illegal online gambling remains rampant.

"The irony is makikita ng bata na y'ung cara y cruz hinuhuli, pero y'ung iligal na e-sabong at kahit anong gaming ay pwede," he said.

"The other irony is that casinos, sabungan, even the lotto outlets have regulations on how far they should be from churches and schools. But actually, mag-CR lang ang estudyante, pwede na siya gumamit ng cellphone sa online gambling," he added.

A longstanding anti-gambling advocate

Cayetano has a 25-year track record of standing against gambling.

Decades back, he filed the Anti-Gambling Act of 2000 (House Bill No. 12601 - An Act Prohibiting All Forms of Gambling thereby repealing the laws that created the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and the PAGCOR and revoking their respective Congressional franchises.)

His campaign intensified after the disappearance of 34 cockfighters in 2021 which highlighted the dangers of e-sabong.

Cayetano was also the only senatorial candidate in the 2022 elections who ran with an anti-gambling platform when nobody dared to speak against gambling.

In 2022, the senator filed the Anti-Online Gambling Act and continues to push for stricter regulations.

Just weeks before the 20th Congress convened this month, he called for continued scrutiny of the industry, noting that domestic online gambling continues to thrive despite the ban on

Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).

Now in the 20th Congress, he is simultaneously pushing for a total ban on online gambling through the Ban on Online Gambling Act (Senate Bill No. 30) a priority measure he filed with Senator Pia Cayetano, and the Anti-Online Gambling Advertisement Act of 2025 (Senate Bill No.109) which seeks to ban gambling promotions across all media platforms.

Sinisira ng online gambling ang kabataan - Cayetano

Umapela si Senador Alan Peter Cayetano sa Senado nitong Huwebes na palalimin nito ang paninindigan sa online gambling.

Aniya, hindi kasi tugma sa pagpapalakas sa kabataang Pilipino ang pamumuhunan ng gobyerno sa trilyong piso sa edukasyon ng kabataan kung patuloy rin nitong ipapakitang normal lang ang pagsusugal at pagkakalulong rito.

"I don't take it against the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to raise funds, regulate gambling operators, and look into all kinds of gambling and gaming kasi iyan ang trabaho nila. But to regulate the illegal side, this is where the balance of government comes in," pahayag ng senador sa kanyang opening statement sa August 14, 2025 joint public hearing tungkol sa online gambling.

"If PAGCOR and the Department of Finance are mostly looking at the revenue side, where is the rest of the government?" dagdag niya.

Ginawang halimbawa ni Cayetano, tagapangulo ng Senate Banks, Financial Institutions, and Currencies Committee, ang mahigpit na ordinansa laban sa pagsusugal na matagal nang ipinapatupad ng Lungsod ng Taguig.

Ayon sa senador, layong itanim ng ordinansa sa kabataang Taguigeño ang kahalagahan ng pagsisikap at tamang pangangasiwa ng pera.

"This is part of teaching our young people to work hard and have the right values, and that every single peso that God gives them needs to be managed well," wika niya.

Iginiit ni Cayetano na habang ang mga tradisyunal na paraan ng pagsusugal — maging ang maliliit na laro na inorganisa tuwing may patay — ay kinokontrol, ang online gambling ay patuloy na tumatakbo nang walang gaanong pangangasiwa.

Dagdag pa niya, kahit mga maliliit na laro tulad ng cara y cruz ay hinuhuli ng Taguig police, pero ang mga iligal na online gambling ay nananatiling malaya.

"The irony is makikita ng bata na y'ung cara y cruz hinuhuli, pero y'ung iligal na e-sabong at kahit anong gaming ay pwede," sabi ng senador.

Matagal nang kampeon laban sa pagsusugal

Dalawampu't limang taon nang tumitindig si Cayetano laban sa sugal.

Ilang dekada na ang nakalipas nang una niyang inihain ang Anti-Gambling Act of 2000 (House Bill No. 12601 - An Act Prohibiting All Forms of Gambling thereby repealing the laws that created the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and the PAGCOR and revoking their respective Congressional franchises.)

Lalong lumakas ang kanyang kampanya laban sa sugal noong 2021 pagkatapos mawala ang 34 na sabungero at nabunyag ang panganib ng e-sabong.

Si Cayetano din ang natatanging kandidato sa pagka senador noong 2022 elections na tumakbo na may plataporma laban sa sugal. Noong halalan na iyon, walang ibang kandidato ang may lakas ng loob na magsalita laban sa anumang uri ng sugal.

Noong 2022, naghain din siya ng Anti-Online Gambling Act noong 19th Congress, at ipinagpatuloy ang kampanya para sa mas mahigpit na regulasyon.

Bago magsimula ang 20th Congress nitong buwan, nanawagan siya para mas pag-ibayuhin ang mga imbestigasyon sa industriya. Pansin niya, kahit ipinagbawal na ang Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), patuloy pa rin ang paglago ng online gambling sa bansa na mga Pilipino ang gumagamit.

Ngayong sa 20th Congress, sabay na tinutulak ni Cayetano ang tuluyang pagbabawal ng online gambling sa pamamagitan ng Ban on Online Gambling Act (Senate Bill No. 30) - isang prayoridad na panukalang inihain niya kasama si Senador Pia Cayetano, at ang Anti-Online Gambling Advertisement Act of 2025 (Senate Bill No. 109) na nagbabawal sa anumang uri ng promosyon ng sugal sa media platforms.

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