If Congress has its way, those who directly or indirectly engage in illegal gambling will face hasher penalties like fines of up to P1 million and prisión mayor or six to 12 years imprisonment.
Following the approval of HB 1581 by the House Committee on Revision of Laws, its proponents on Thursday urged Congress to speed up its passage into law.
The proposal, embodied in seven separate bills up for consolidation by the committee, seeks to amend Presidential Decree 1602, or the law penalizing illegal gambling like cockfighting, jueteng, jai alai and horseracing including bookie operations and game fixing, numbers games, bingo and other forms of lottery or any game using dice.
P.D. 1602 at present prescribes a maximum fine of only P4,000 and a jail term of prisión correcional or six months to six years in its maximum period.
The law also considers illegal gambling card games as well as games using plastic tiles; slot machines, pinball and other mechanical contraptions and devices; and “any other game and scheme, whether upon chance or skill, wherein wagers consisting of money, articles of value or representative of value are at stake or made.”
Authors of the bill agreed that the proliferation of illegal gambling has caused social ills like drug addiction and crimes against property and persons. They also agreed that the penalties under P.D. 1602 are inadequate and need to be improved because these were enacted more than 20 years ago and need therefore to conform to present-day realities.
Rep. Gilbert Remulla of Cavite, author of House Bill 1581, said illegal gambling has further degraded the morals of society. “People have pinned their hopes for a better life through games of chance rather than pursuing productive undertakings,” he said.
Rep. Prospero Pichay of Surigao del Sur, who authored HB 1375, noted that gambling is propped up, if not financed by men in uniform, often in cahoots with politicos or vice versa.
http://www.gamblingmagazine.com/managearticle.asp?c=380&a=2163
[This message was edited by The General on July 06, 2003 at 09:57 AM.]
Following the approval of HB 1581 by the House Committee on Revision of Laws, its proponents on Thursday urged Congress to speed up its passage into law.
The proposal, embodied in seven separate bills up for consolidation by the committee, seeks to amend Presidential Decree 1602, or the law penalizing illegal gambling like cockfighting, jueteng, jai alai and horseracing including bookie operations and game fixing, numbers games, bingo and other forms of lottery or any game using dice.
P.D. 1602 at present prescribes a maximum fine of only P4,000 and a jail term of prisión correcional or six months to six years in its maximum period.
The law also considers illegal gambling card games as well as games using plastic tiles; slot machines, pinball and other mechanical contraptions and devices; and “any other game and scheme, whether upon chance or skill, wherein wagers consisting of money, articles of value or representative of value are at stake or made.”
Authors of the bill agreed that the proliferation of illegal gambling has caused social ills like drug addiction and crimes against property and persons. They also agreed that the penalties under P.D. 1602 are inadequate and need to be improved because these were enacted more than 20 years ago and need therefore to conform to present-day realities.
Rep. Gilbert Remulla of Cavite, author of House Bill 1581, said illegal gambling has further degraded the morals of society. “People have pinned their hopes for a better life through games of chance rather than pursuing productive undertakings,” he said.
Rep. Prospero Pichay of Surigao del Sur, who authored HB 1375, noted that gambling is propped up, if not financed by men in uniform, often in cahoots with politicos or vice versa.
http://www.gamblingmagazine.com/managearticle.asp?c=380&a=2163
[This message was edited by The General on July 06, 2003 at 09:57 AM.]
