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HINDI dapat palampasin ng Kamara ang pagkakataon makalikha ng mga panukalang batas na magbibigay proteksyon sa mga mamamayan sa panahon ng “karimlan.”
Sa ilalim ng resolusyon na inihain ni Manila 6th Dist. Rep. Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr., hinikayat ang mga kapwa mambabatas na magsagawa ng full congressional investigation hinggil sa sinapit ng higit 100 sabungero na nawawala o dinukot sa pagitan ng taong 2021 at 2022.
“This is a modern-day horror story. You can no longer call this a harmless vice when it ends with bodies dumped in our lakes and families mourning the loss of their loved ones,” diin ni Abante hinggil sa naturang insidente na may kaugnayan sa kasagsagan ng operasyon ng e-sabong sa bansa.
“Ang nakataya po dito ay hindi lang pera—ang nakataya dito ang kaluluwa ng ating mga kababayan. Ang sinusugal natin ay ang kinabukasan ng kabataan. You simply cannot put a price tag on either,” dagdag pa ng Manila lawmaker, na tumayong chairperson ng House Committee on Human Rights sa nakaraang 19th Congress.
Bukod sa panawagan para sa masusing pagsisiyasat ng Kamara, nagsumite rin si Abante ng kanyang House Bill No. 1876 o ang Anti-Online and Anti-Offsite Gambling Act of 2025.
“This bill seeks to outlaw all forms of online gambling and offsite betting, including e-sabong. It aims to dismantle a system that profits off addiction, exploits our youth through mobile apps and digital wallets, and leads to crimes as horrifying as murder. Because make no mistake: what we are dealing with here is not just about gambling—it is about murder,” ani Abante hinggil sa kanyang inakdang panukalang batas.
“Online gambling is not just a vice—it is a virus. It is an addiction that eats away at the moral fiber of our society. It erodes the values we teach our children, it devastates the finances of Filipino families, and it promotes the growth of a shadow economy that thrives on addiction, deceit, and even death,” dagdag pa niya.
“Gambling has always profited off addiction. And today, it is worse because it has gone digital, viral, and global. There is nowhere a gambling addict can go to resist temptation because an addict cannot avoid casinos or cockpits if these are in the palms of their hands,” aniya pa.
Ani Abante, maraming ang nagsasabi kailangan pahintulutan ang gambling operations dahil nagbibigay ito ng malaking pondong ginagamit ng gobyerno para sa pagpapatupad ng ilang mahahalagang programa o proyekto.
“The profits that the government earns from this industry, they say, funds healthcare, infrastructure, and other government programs. But no amount of government revenue can justify the human costs of this evil pastime,” giit ng Manila solon.
“We cannot continue to build schools or roads with money soaked in the blood of fathers who have lost their savings, or of children who gambled away their futures. We should not heal our citizens with resources generated from an industry that harms our kababayan,” punto pa ng kongresista. (ROMEO ALLAN BUTUYAN II)
