In his first official Cabinet meeting held after his inauguration in Malacanang, Pres. Rodrigo Duterte issued on Thursday, June 30, a directive to scrap online gambling in the country.
Duterte suggested to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) to revoke the licenses it issued to online gambling operators all over the country.
?I would suggest that online gambling must stop. It has opened a lot of avenues for many people. It?s out of control in Pagcor,? Duterte said.
The main ? and only — entity expected to be hit by the presidential directive is PhilWeb, a company owned by businessman Roberto ?Bobby? Ongpin, which has been given the master franchise by Pagcor to operate online gambling in the country.
See exhaustive story on PhilWeb?s online gambling business here.
Duterte said online gambling has sprouted almost everywhere, enticing many Filipinos to gamble instead of working to earn a living.
?Mahirap yan na puro sugal na lang nalalaman and there is no way the government collecting taxes from online,? Duterte said. ?I don?t want the proliferation of gambling throughout the country. That?s not good.?
The chief executive also emphasized that the billions of pesos being earned by Pagcor should be geared towards the health services particularly for the poor Filipinos who cannot even afford to buy medicines.
?If that billions of pesos will be focused to health services, it would to further in providing relief to every Filipino,? Duterte said. — with reports from PNA
