A legislator on Saturday warned that e-sabong which had been stopped by President Duterte early this week could return if the people let their guard down.
Senatorial aspirant and Taguig City Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano said e-sabong operators were only letting things “cool down” before trying to make a comeback either through the Senate which has 11 more session days after the May 9 elections, or through the next administration.
Cayetano urged religious groups to continue preaching against online gambling and its ill effects, saying such activities will not prosper if no one patronizes them.
“That is my appeal to the all faith-based groups… to teach that online gambling is evil and never patronize it,” he said.
He also said parents and teachers were crucial in the fight against online gambling.
Cayetano revealed that e-sabong franchises were “offered” to him when he was still Speaker and that he was warned he would be removed from his position if he refused to cooperate.
Cayetano said he sometimes felt like he was “a voice in the wilderness” because he “kept talking about e-sabong even when some people were telling me to stop kasi may nagagalit na daw.”
But he said President Duterte’s decision to scrap e-sabong solidified his position that it was harmful to the people and to the nation.
“What the government earns from these online gambling operations pales in comparison to the losses the people incur in terms of gambling debt, crimes, the breakup of families, and much more,” he said.
Cayetano said the success of the fight against e-sabong is “a lesson to us all to pray and be persistent.”
