NBI taken for a big ride?

Friday last week, a team of heavily armed men, about a dozen or more of them, swooped down on an exclusive enclave, purportedly to accost, and arrest, two men on the grounds of conducting illegal gambling activities.

These agents from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), armed with a search warrant signed by a Manila City Court judge, came to this exclusive country club in Pasig, in search of two men who they claim conduct regular gambling sorties in the premises of the said exclusive club, and since these were cash-wager games unsanctioned by Pagcor, these fell under the illegal gambling category. What was disturbing about this raid was the fact that they entered the premises of this exclusive country club, an otherwise peaceful, law-abiding enclave of families and better known for fostering healthy sports activities, armed to the teeth, and even with M-16 rifles at that.

That fateful Friday night, a non-cash wager tournament was on-going, and at stake, as usual, was a championship certificate. The key word here is NON-CASH, meaning precisely that the chips being used had no cash value, were not redeemable by cash, and the tournament was a pitting of skills among Texas Hold’em aficionados, much like a game of bridge where players play for points and bragging rights. Among the players was a lawyer who explained this fact to the raiders and, frustrated that they did not entertain logical explanations, challenged the team to pursue a legal case against these law-abiding citizens.

Apparently, Pagcor was the complainant, but the participants and tournament organizers tried to explain that this particular tournament was officially sanctioned and even sponsored and supported by the Pagcor. They even pointed to the posters on the wall attesting to this fact. All these fell on deaf ears as the raiders hauled all the participants to the NBI office, including the tournament secretary. They also confiscated the gaming tables, chips and cards (all tournament paraphernalia) and even the tournament fees, etc.

What was unfortunate was that the documents attesting to the official sanction of Pagcor were not readily available in the site. Perhaps the organizers thought that the posters were enough to attest to the official recognition of the games by this body, and the fact that the games were strictly non-cash wager games precluded any illegality in this case. When pressed further, the agents even said that private poker or mahjong games involving only one table are "raidable" as well, taken in the strict context of the new implementing rules covering such games. Does this mean that, in country clubs, one can’t enjoy a private game of mahjong or poker without fear of being arrested? What delineates illegal gambling from private leisure games? I remember that, in the days of martial law when then President Marcos cracked down on gambling, which he generalized as any game of chance, he conceded that poker did not fall into this category because it was a game of skills, not of chance. In the rules promulgated for this, poker was clearly exempted and elevated to a gentlemen’s game of skills. It appears that all other "parlor games" such as mahjong, etc., were not given a clear exemption.

At the NBI headquarters, things cleared eventually as a Pagcor official called the NBI to clarify that these particular tournament was sanctioned and sponsored and, being a non-cash wager tournament, should not be lumped together with the illegal gambling going on elsewhere. Clearly, the agents who conducted the raid where misled by "inaccurate" information.

Whoever supplied the wrong information now has a lot of explaining to do to the top brasses of the NBI for putting this highly respected agency in bad light. If the person were an NBI organic agent, typing forms should be his main assignment henceforth as his intelligence gathering has been proven to be not intelligent at all. If he were a civilian "tipster", the person can only run but not hide for causing embarrassment to the entire force for possibly doing either of two things, stupidly supplying erroneous information or deliberately giving the wrong info for whatever malicious personal agenda, which is inimical both to the NBI and to the exclusive club.

And what of the judge who signed the warrant? Did he understand all the facts and premises before he affixed his signature on the warrant? Was he also taken for a ride? Maybe he didn’t notice that the venue of the supposed illegal gambling activities being cited was a long-standing exclusive club and the management or its members mostly composed of people of integrity would never allow or tolerate illegal activities openly nor clandestinely done within the club?

The legal minds connected with the organizing committee are still mulling the incident. So far, no charges have been filed, but the harassment and humiliation suffered by the tournament participants are enough to wage a monumental issue for this raid. They were released from the NBI offices in the wee hours of Saturday morning, after the pertinent documents were produced and Pagcor officials called to clarify the matter. Can the anxiety, stress, and humiliation ever be undone? What signals are being sent out here? That it is better to go into clandestine games in private homes than participate in professionally-run tournaments that openly profess non-cash wager games of skill?

Contrary to what some quarters may feel, the fact that Texas Hold’em has captured the imagination of our young people is constructive, if these are played strictly as non-cash wager games. It hones them in the skill of assets management, temperance and sobriety (since being foolhardy will take them out of the game much faster) outside of the context of gambling. It keeps them indoors on a Friday or Saturday nights, taking turns at each other’s house while enjoying a plate of spaghetti and iced tea. Certainly beats having them out on the streets late at night. The foolhardy player learns that conservative playing coupled with a mature understanding of the game, assures them of a long night of playing. For most of these young people, what takes the cake at the end of the night is the bragging rights that he bested five or six others and emerged as the best player of the night (sharp, skillful and patient with a little bit of luck), without even the benefit of a certificate!

Another hour of business & the good life on TV

This coming Tuesday at 10 o’clock in the evening, you can set your TV remote on Channel 13 if you’re with Sky or Home cable or on Channel 9 if your cable TV subscription is with Destiny to watch an hour of the perfect combination of Business & Leisure – the TV show.

We’ll have a short on-camera chat with the popular TV sportscaster that made watching basketball more exciting that game has always been as we spotlight Emy Arcilla on our segment Profiles. We’ll also have some insights on this household health product that many swears on its effectiveness – VCO or Virgin Coconut Oil and its effects on the coco industry straight from the administrator of the Philippine Coconut Administration, Mr. Oscar Garin. For special features, our Pets & Friends portion shall spotlight exotic pets while on the segment Tipsy, a new watering hole and sports lounge that’s taking in a lot of lovers of good food and fine drinks and the gaming enthusiasts – the Sports Den. Don’t fail to watch.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

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