Hontiveros wants e-wallets, super apps to also ‘self-regulate' vs. online gambling
Hontiveros, who earlier filed a bill seeking to ban online gambling access in e-wallets and super apps, made the remark as three of the country's largest integrated resort-casino operators said that their online gaming operations comply with laws and regulations.
'Kung sinasabi ng malalaking mga casino na sumusunod na sila sa mga kasalukuyang regulasyon, okay yun. Ibig sabihin, hindi rin magiging problema kung magdagdag man ng paghihigpit pagdating sa online gambling,' the lady senator said.
(If big casinos say they are following regulations, that's well and good. That means there should be no issue if we tighten access to online gambling.)
Despite this, she questioned why e-wallet and super app companies are seemingly silent regarding claims that have made online gambling easier to access.
'Sa dami ng reklamo na napadali ng e-wallets at super apps ang online gambling, bakit tila tahimik ang mga kumpanyang ito? Umaasa akong magkakaroon rin sila ng sarili nilang regulasyon dahil hindi biro ang mga buhay na nasira at pwedeng masira dahil sa online gambling,' Hontiveros said.
(With so many complaints pointing to how phones have made online gambling too easy to access, why are e-wallet and super app companies silent? I hope that they would also take steps to self-regulate. Too many lives have been ruined and could be ruined by online gambling. Too many families have already been hurt.)
'Napakaraming nagme-message sa opisina namin sa Senado, dahil sa dami na ng nalululong, nalulubog sa utang, at namamatay dahil sa bisyo na ito. Sa ganitong sitwasyon, hindi na sapat ang pagsunod lamang sa batas. Kailangan din nating makiisa,' she added.
(My office in the Senate has received numerous messages from people desperate for help. These are reports of loved ones who have become addicted, buried in debt, and who've taken their own lives due to this vice. In this situation, it's not enough that we follow the law. We also need to care. We need to act together.)
'Enablers of debt'
Meanwhile, Senator JV Ejercito, who also filed a resolution seeking for the regulation of online gambling and lending in the country, said that e-wallet companies have become a way for Filipinos to go into debt.
'Ang e-wallet ay ginawa para padaliin ang buhay ng mga Pilipino, hindi para maging enablers ng sugal at utang—dalawang bagay na sumisira sa mga pamilya at kinabukasan. Hindi dapat pinapayagan na gatasan pa ang kahinaan ng ilan nating kababayan,' Ejercito said.
(E-wallets were created to make the lives of Filipinos easier, not to be enablers of gambling and debt—two things that destroy families and the future. It should not be allowed to take advantage of the weakness of some of our countrymen.)
'Once a financial tool begins enabling addiction, it is the government's duty to intervene. To strictly regulate and stop them from further fueling this gambling culture,' he continued.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), for its part, is now looking to have payment service providers (PSPs) create a facility that would allow users to create a separate online gambling transaction account (OGTA), which will then be placed under stricter rules in a bid to protect clients from risks associated with the industry.
Under a draft circular released to stakeholders for exposure, the central bank is looking to have players create an OGTA in order to participate in online gambling. With the creation of an OGTA, all lending options in the digital platform will be disabled.
Monumental step
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian welcomed this move by the BSP, emphasizing that it is a monumental step toward the responsible use of digital services.
'Daily caps, time limits, and biometric verification can help curb the alarming rise of gambling addiction, especially among the youth,' he said.
Like the other senators, Gatchalian has also proposed a measure that would impose strict regulations for online gambling in the country as part of efforts to address the growing gambling addiction especially among the youth. — BM, GMA Integrated News
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
GMA Network
42 minutes ago
- GMA Network
DFA: Undetermined number of Pinoys still trapped in SE Asia scam centers
An undetermined number of Filipinos remain trapped in various scam farms across Southeast Asia, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wednesday as it assured that government efforts to free them are underway. "The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs continues to receive reports of alleged Filipino human trafficking victims still trapped inside different scam centers in Southeast Asia," the DFA said. Meanwhile, the DFA called on relatives of Filipinos who may be employed in underground scam hubs operating mainly in the border in Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia to come forward and provide verified information on their family member. "We remain committed to the rescue and repatriation of all Filipino that are working in illegal call centers in the region," added the DFA. Traffickers in the past three years have exploited Filipinos and other nationals in forced labor in online scam operation facilities, which have expanded rapidly in Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. Hannah Lizette Manalili, executive director of the Inter-agency Council Against Trafficking, on Tuesday urged Southeast Asian countries to do more to combat the rise of trafficking of individuals who are being recruited illegally to work in scam farms and enhance a regional exchange of information to effectively address the problem. ASEAN groups the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. The Philippines has been identified as a source country for gambling and crime-related human trafficking in Southeast Asia, according to Manalili, but he said the government is actively taking steps to curb the problem. The DFA said it has instructed its diplomatic posts within the ASEAN region to "devote efforts and resources in extending all possible assistance" to distressed people while closely engaging concerned authorities of their host countries for their cooperation. "We call on all our kababayans, including our Filipino communities abroad, to support all efforts to prevent all modes of recruitment and victimization of our Filipino nationals in schemes that lead to forced criminality and participation in scamming operations," the DFA said. The United Nations has expressed alarm over the thousands of trafficked individuals in the region, saying the situation has 'reached the level of a humanitarian and human rights crisis.' UN human rights rapporteurs Tomoya Obokata, Siobhán Mullally, and Vitit Muntarbhorn in their report released in May found that thousands of released victims remain stranded in inhumane conditions at the Myanmar-Thailand border. In the same month, Philippine officials were able to safely bring home over 200 Filipino alleged human trafficking victims from illegal scam centers in Myawaddy, Myanmar. Many victims of scam farm operations who were initially promised legal jobs are kidnapped and sold to other fraudulent operations, the UN rapporteurs said. The DFA advised all Filipinos to go through proper foreign employment procedures established by the Department of Migrant Workers before departing the country for overseas employment. —VAL, GMA Integrated News Filipinos may reach out to the Philippine Embassies in Yangon and Bangkok through the Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) hotline +95 998 521 0991, email at or through the official Philippine Embassy in Myanmar Facebook Messenger, and Bangkok's ATN hotline +66 81989 7116 or email through
GMA Network
3 hours ago
- GMA Network
Marcos OKs privatization of North-South Commuter Railway ops
The government's plan to privatize the operations and maintenance (O&M) of the big-ticket North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project, which is now under construction, has been approved by the President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. The President-chaired Economic Development Council (formerly the National Economic and Development Authority Board) has approved, during its meeting on July 15, the O&M of NSCR under a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement. In February 2023, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) announced it is intending to hand over the O&M of NSCR along with the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP) to the private sector through competitive bidding. The total estimated cost of the O&M contract is P229.32 billion, according to the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev). The entire NSCR is a 147.26-kilometer elevated railway line aimed at easing travel across three regions in Luzon, namely Central Luzon, Metro Manila, and CALABARZON. The project is already in advanced stages of construction with pre-operations expected to begin in March 2026 until July 2027. The DEPDev said the concession period for partial operations of NSCR Phase 1 —from Clark International Airport (CIA) to Valenzuela involving 13 stations— is targeted to commence in December 2027 until September 2028. Meanwhile, the concession period for the partial operations of Phase 2 —from Nichols with additional segments from Alabang to Calamba involving 32 stations— will run from October 2028 until December 2031. Full operations are expected to begin in January 2032, it said. 1M commuters The railway project is expected to benefit as many as 800,000 passengers daily in its opening year, eventually serving up to one million commuters, the Economic Planning Department said. NSCR will feature 35 stations, including 31 elevated, three at-grade, and one underground. Its depots will be located in Clark, Valenzuela, and Calamba to support maintenance and operations. The railway project is planned to offer two types of train services —commuter trains, with 51 train-sets each capable of carrying 2,242 passengers and 'Limited Express' trains with seven train-sets accommodating 386 passengers each. The two train services are planned to have travel speeds of 120 to 130 kilometers per hour, reducing travel time from Clark to Calamba to around three hours via commuter service from four hours, while the limited express service will cut travel time from Clark to Alabang to around two hours. 'The North-South Commuter Railway Project is a major step toward faster, greener, and more connected transportation for Filipinos as the system will also be integrated with the Metro Manila Subway. At the same time, it will promote green and commercial development along its corridors,' said DEPDev Secretary and ED Council vice chairperson Arsenio Balisacan. The ED Council also tackled the midterm update of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028. The midterm update of the PDP 2023-2028 refines and recalibrates the country's key policies, strategies, programs, and legislative priorities to ensure alignment with evolving economic conditions and development goals, according to the DEPDev. The DEPDev said it spearheads the updating process of the Plan at the midpoint of each administration to assess progress and make necessary adjustments to targets and interventions. 'We have learned a lot of lessons from our past experiences and many of these have been reflected in our recent efforts. We will continue to stay on our course to sustain our momentum for the second half of this administration,' said Balisacan. Following the discussions from the Council meeting, DEPDev will be receiving comments from various agencies to finalize the updated Plan, which will be released to the public by the end of July 2025. —VAL, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
3 hours ago
- GMA Network
Imee seeks ban on transfer of Pinoys to foreign jurisdiction sans local warrant
Senator Imee Marcos has filed a measure seeking the prohibition of arresting or detaining any person in the Philippine territory and transferring them to an international court without a warrant of arrest issued by a local court. In the explanatory note of Senate Bill No. 557, also known as the President Rodrigo R. Duterte Act, Marcos called the arrest and turn over of the former president to the International Criminal Court 'abuses by the authorities' which may also happen to others. 'What took place on that fateful day was an extraordinary rendition—the transfer without due process of a detainee to the custody of a foreign jurisdiction,' Marcos said. 'Thus, it is necessary to make it exceedingly clear—if it is not yet clear already—that arresting an individual for the purpose of turning him or her over to a foreign jurisdiction without an order and a warrant of arrest issued by a Philippine court is against the Constitution and punishable under the law,' she added. The prohibited acts under the proposed bill include the transferring or causing the transfer of any person found within the territory of the Philippines to an international court, tribunal, organization, or State whose jurisdiction or authority to investigate, prosecute, detain, imprison, or execute such person is not expressly and unequivocally recognized by the Philippines through a treaty or international agreement from which the Philippines has not withdrawn at the time of such transfer; or without the written and voluntary consent of the person transferred or an order issued by a competent Philippine court allowing such transfer. The bill also seeks to ban the arresting or detaining or causing the arrest or detention of any person in the Philippines for the purpose of transferring him or her to any international court, tribunal, organization, or State without an arrest warrant issued by a competent Philippine court. Investigating, arresting, detaining, or prosecuting any local on behalf of, in favor of, or upon the orders of any international court or the like; or without a permit issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will also be prohibited. The proposed measure also provides that all transactions in all property and interests in property of any person who is formally charged in the proper Philippine court with any of the offenses penalized under the Act are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in, if such property and interests in property are in the country or are within the possession or control of a Filipino citizen or resident, unless the court determines specific circumstances. It will also allow any person to file an ex parte petition in the proper Philippine court to deny the issuance of or cancel any visa of an alien, if there is substantial evidence that such alien visited or will visit the country to conduct any investigation, inquiry, arrest, detention, or transfer persons on behalf of any foreign court or State whose jurisdiction is not recognized by the Philippines through a treaty. As a recourse, the bill will also grant all persons who have been subjected to extraordinary rendition, whether prior to or after the enactment of the Act, shall be entitled to the appropriate remedies in the Philippine court. 'The Department of Foreign Affairs shall exhaust every diplomatic channel to ensure that Filipino citizens who are victims of extraordinary rendition will be repatriated to the Philippines as soon as possible and that judgments of the Philippine court will be given effect,' the measure read. Duterte was arrested in the Philippines by local authorities on March 11, based on a warrant of arrest issued by the ICC. He is currently detained in the Scheveningen Prison in The Hague for charges of crimes against humanity for the extrajudicial killings during the drug war. —AOL, GMA Integrated News
