Lawmakers on Saturday backed the proposal of Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III imposing P3,000 entrance fee on casino goers in a bid to deter gambling addicts.
Reps. Robert Ace Barbers of Surigao del Norte and Harry Roque of Kabayan party-list expressed concern over the growing number of people being banned from casinos owing to addiction.
“I support the bill to exclude those who cannot afford to gamble from entering casinos,” Roque, a member of the House minority bloc, said.
Roque said he hopes that the Albano bill will be approved by Congress in the wake of the bloody Resorts World tragedy.
Barbers, chairman of the House committee on dangerous drugs, said the bill will discourage gambling addiction among the Filipino people.
“I fully support that just like in Singapore; it is a bit restrictive for the locals to enter the casino,” Barbers said.
But Parañaque Rep. Gus Tambunting opposed the proposed entrance fee in casinos.
“For gambling addicts who are able to spend huge sums of money precisely to gamble, an entrance fee might only serve to legitimize their entry into these gambling establishments,” Tambunting said.
He said compelling gambling addicts to pay an entrance fee in casinos and similar gambling establishments will not solve the problem.
“Just making them pay will not solve the problem, it’s as if we are saying we are willing to look the other way because they have already paid an entrance fee, and will not take action even as addicted gamblers piss their life away in the gaming pits,” Tambunting said.
Nevertheless, the bill filed by Albano is worth studying.
“While we do not necessarily rule out a measure like this and are open to studying it, our initial sense is that the problem of gambling addiction must be approached as a mental health issue,” Tambunting said.
In pushing for the bill’s passage, Albano said the amount shall be imposed in all casinos and other similar gaming establishments in the country to deter gambling addicts.
“The bill seeks to strengthen regulation of the participation or engagement of citizens in casino gambling by ensuring that those who enter casinos and similar gambling establishments have the minimum resources to engage in gambling activity therein,” Albano, House majority leader for the House of Representatives’ contingent to Commission on Appointments, said.
Albano filed the bill following the tragic Resorts World incident that killed 38 people, including gunman Jessie Javier Carlos, a dismissed tax specialist at the Department of Finance.
“The Resorts World casino tragedy that senselessly claimed lives and caused injury to many people brought to public attention the sad state of regulation and administration of gaming and gaming establishments in the country,” Albano said.
“As important, it called attention to the sinister effects of gambling addiction especially among those who do not have or can ill afford the financial resources needed to engage in casino gambling,” he added.
Under the bill, a casino entrance charge, collected from any person who is not an official or employee of any casino every time he or she enters a casino and similar gaming establishments, will serve as a deterrent to those who lack the resources or can barely afford to engage in casino gambling.
The bill provides that the casino entrance charge (CEC) shall be collected by the gaming establishment where the casino is located and shall be used to create a Special Fund to be spent for the establishment and maintenance of children and youth welfare shelters in the country under the supervision of the Social Welfare department.
The bill prescribes that 50 percent of the amount shall be for children and youth welfare programs in the city and municipality where the casino is located.
Meanwhile, in an official statement, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office General Manager Alexander Balutan said that from January to April, the agency has “generated more than P16 billion from our different game products, an increase of 32.29% compared with the same period last year.”
Balutan said the improved revenue performance of expanded STL, “resulted in the generation of more than P3.88 billion, 135.26% higher compared with the same period last year when the STL was not yet expanded.”
He added that the PCSO board recently approved 36 more Authorized Agent Corporations to help them increase revenues and they have now 92 AACs from the current 56.
He added: “The funds we generated have helped 117,954 beneficiaries under the Individual Medical Assistance Program (IMAP), 42 from the Medicine Donation Program and 4 recipients under the Medical Equipment Donation Program, while 760 beneficiaries received health services from the Medical and Dental Mission activities of the agency.
A total of 182 ambulances were distributed to hospitals, health institutions, municipalities, provinces and city health offices in different priority areas nationwide.”
Balutan said they plan to buy four-wheel drive multi-role ambulances worth 3 million each, similar to the ones used by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, to extend their services to Filipinos living in remote areas of the country, and allocated P239.29 million for LGU shares from Lotto; P187 million as STL shares for the municipalities, cities, congressional districts, provinces and Philippine National Police where there are partner AACs; P1.2 billion as documentary stamp tax; and, almost 1.5 billion pesos as mandatory contributions for Sports Development, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and National Voluntary Blood Services Program.