Cayetano: “Sa totoo lang, magpapalamig lang ‘yan…Tapos sa Senado naman pupunta (ang mga operators) para sa franchise, o sa next administration.”
ALAN PETER CAYETANO — The senatorial candidate warned that ‘online sabong‘ operators might just let the situation “cool down” first before mounting their comeback.
Cayetano, who is a former House Speaker, gave this warning as he mentioned possible ways that ‘e-sabong’ or online cockfighting operations could return to the mainstream.
He also urged faith-based and religious groups to continue teaching Filipinos about the ill effects of online gambling, saying that such activities will not prosper if no one patronizes them.
According to him, parents and teachers are “a big weapon” in the fight against online gambling.
“Sa totoo lang, magpapalamig lang ‘yan… Tapos sa Senado naman pupunta [ang mga operators] para sa franchise, o sa next administration,” Cayetano was quoted as saying in a statement on Friday, May 6. “Bumalik man ito ay wala nang tataya.”
Cayetano also revealed that ‘online sabong’ franchises were “offered” to him when he was still House Speaker and that he was warned that he would be removed from his position if he refused to have them approved.
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He added that he sometimes felt like was “a voice in the wilderness” because he kept talking about ‘online sabong’ even when some people were telling him to stop “kasi may nagagalit na daw”.
However, he said that President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent decision to end ‘e-sabong’ operations in the country solidified his position that it is 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, crime, the breakup of families, and much much more,” he said.
According to Cayetano, the success of the fight against ‘e-sabong’ is “a lesson to us all to pray and be persistent”.
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