Senator Risa Hontiveros said Monday that online sabong or e-sabong activities should be reviewed in the same way that Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) are.
The legislator made the remark while claiming that the online sabong industry could be much worse than the POGO sector.
“The urgent matter is siguruhin ang buhay at kaligatasan nitong missing persons and strategically i-subject itong e-sabong sa parehong scrutiny na ginawa namin sa POGO,” Hontiveros said in an ANC interview.
(The urgent matter is to ensure the life and safety of these missing persons and strategically subject this e-sabong to the same scrutiny we did at POGO.)
“I’m glad you pointed out POGO because not all forms of gambling are equal. There may be some that are worst than the others kaya nga umabot ako sa punto na… nanawagan ako na tanggalin ‘yan, itigil ‘yan, pagbayarin sila ng buwis pero paalisin sa Pilipinas,” she added.
(I’m glad you pointed out POGO because not all forms of gambling are equal. There may be some that are worse than the others, so I got to the point where… I called for that to be removed, stop that, pay taxes, and be expelled from the Philippines.)
The senator stated that stakeholders’ online sabong activities should address the same concerns highlighted against POGOs.
“It’s that same high bar na kailangang i-clear ng mga stakeholders ng e-sabong kasi ‘yon na nga na-establish natin that there are forms of gambling like POGO na hindi natin dapat ipagpatuloy dito sa atin,” she added.
Scrutinize e-sabong like POGOs – Hontiveros
“It’s that same high bar na kailangang i-clear ng mga stakeholders ng e-sabong kasi ‘yon na nga na-establish natin that there are forms of gambling like POGO na hindi natin dapat ipagpatuloy dito sa atin,” she added.
(It’s the same high bar that we should clear with the stakeholders of e-sabong because we already established that there are forms of gambling like POGO that we should not continue here in our country.)
Hontiveros stated that the main issue she is concerned about is children’s access to e-sabong.
“‘Yung akin ding major concern about it, kailangan i-resolve sa tingin ko [is] to childproof e-sabong kasi nga dahil it is no longer required to be present at the scene of the game,” Hontiveros said.
(My primary concern about this, the one thing that we resolve is we need to childproof e-sabong because it is no longer required to be present at the game scene.)
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