House bill to legalize jueteng filed

Amid accusations that government officials are involved in jueteng payoffs, a lawmaker on Tuesday proposed that the numbers game be legalized and that local government units be allowed to operate and get revenues from it. In filing House Bill 3289, Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga explained that gambling is not illegal per se. “What is illegal," Barzaga said, are the evil effects of excessive gambling and the reliance of gamblers on instant monetary gain instead of giving more value to dignified work, perseverance and thrift. Despite the repeated efforts of the government to curtail jueteng, and other similar numbers games such as ending, masiao, and last-two, these forms of illegal gambling continue to thrive in the country, Barzaga said. “Its illegality does not prevent the people from betting. The imposition of penalties and stringent measures against jueteng do not deter the operators and kubradors [local bet collectors] from collecting and soliciting bets from the people," Barzaga said. Because of this, the lawmaker said the government should tap the numbers game as a source of much-needed revenues for its local government units (LGUs). “Instead of revenues being used as payolas, protection money and earnings of the gambling lords, the local government unit could get funds from the operation of the numbers game," he said. He added that some indigents, who obtain their only source of living from jueteng operations, can be provided with lawful employment which in turn will lead to their being active participants in the country’s economic development. To erase the evil that accompanies these illegal games, the practical approach is to operate them under the direct control and supervision of the LGU with full transparency of the draws, Barzaga explained. Such an approach will also stop the “corruption of public officers from the proceeds of collection from the underground and illegal operation of the said numbers games," he said. Under HB 3289, all cities and municipalities will be authorized to operate jueteng, masiao, sertres, first-two or last-two, and any other variants of the numbers game — except lotto, which is being handled by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. However, the city or municipality shall implement only one game within its jurisdiction after due public consultation and deliberation. As an additional safeguard, an LGU cannot transfer in any way the operation of the numbers game to some other entity. The city or municipality will have to directly operate the numbers game, and all the collectors or agents shall be considered as city or municipality employees. The draw of the numbers game will be public and held at the city or municipal hall, or any place open to the public, and under the auspices of the LGU as operator. The city or municipality will be allowed to conduct up to a maximum of three draws a day. The city council or municipal council will set aside a portion of its budget to be used as initial operating fund for the numbers game. Of the gross of proceeds, 55 percent will be allotted for the prize fund, 5 percent will be for the barangays, 5 percent will be given to the local police for additional remuneration, 2 percent to the provincial government for additional remuneration of the provincial employees, 2 percent to the provincial police for additional remuneration, and 5 percent to the national government to be exclusively used for educational purposes. The city or municipality will keep the remaining 26 percent as additional remuneration of its employees. Any remainder amount is to be used to build additional classrooms in public elementary and high schools, hire more teachers, purchase school equipment and others. A check at the House of Representatives bills and index division showed that one bill was filed in the 13th Congress and two in the 14th Congress, all seeking the legalization of jueteng. No committee report was ever submitted, which indicates that the previous bills did not pass muster.—JV, GMANews.TV