Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday urged the Senate to take a firm stance against online gambling, warning that its normalization undermines Filipino youth despite the government’s trillion-peso investment in education.
Speaking at a joint Senate hearing on August 14, Cayetano said that while the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) and the Department of Finance focus on gambling revenues, “the rest of the government” must address its harmful effects.
Citing Taguig’s long-standing ban on all forms of gambling, Cayetano said such policies teach young people “to work hard and have the right values,” and manage money responsibly. He contrasted strict enforcement against small, traditional gambling with the ease of access to unregulated online betting, noting that students can gamble “just by going to the CR and using their cellphone.”
A staunch anti-gambling advocate, Cayetano has filed measures including the Ban on Online Gambling Act and the Anti-Online Gambling Advertisement Act of 2025, both seeking to eliminate online gambling and its promotion in the country.
