Archbishop slams Pagcor’s ‘Telesabong’

Does the moolah justify the means?

A plan by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) to promote cockfight betting through the Internet will only create more gambling addicts, an influential Church official warned yesterday.

Archbishop of Dagupan-Lingayen Oscar Cruz said TeleSabong, the online betting game to be offered by Pagcor and Internet gaming company Philweb Corp., would make gambling accessible to almost everyone.

"The greed of money is now promoted more extensively. The creation of gambling addicts goes public. Gambling is made accessible to Mang Tomas, Aling Nene and Totoy," he said.

According to Pagcor vice president Rene Figueroa, TeleSabong is intended to increase the revenues of its Internet operations, with Philweb acting as technical and marketing consultant.

In a statement, Philweb said TeleSabong could generate as much as P60 billion a year in additional income for Pagcor.

The online results will be based on the results of selected four-cock matches. The online betting formats will follow traditional cockfighting formats such as "Singles," "Parlays" and "Pick the Derby Champion."

Bettors can place their bets either through their Internet-enabled computers or through Pagcor’s betting stations.

But Cruz, a past president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, criticized TeleSabong as a misuse of technology.

"Sabong is now an official corporate form of gambling. It has gone Internet. And betting on fighting cocks also goes Internet. This is progress — the wrong way!" he said.

Cruz said Pagcor’s promotion of online gambling is sending the wrong signals to ordinary Filipinos who earn their living through "hard work, decent employment, honest profession and the like."

"No republic can be strong when gambling is its prime commodity and gambling addiction is its expertise," he said. "Pagcor appears to be bent on making gambling the prime industry of the country. Nevermind the need for sweat and toil for a decent living. Away with sound social values and moral principles. Make the quest for money through gambling the supreme law of the land."

An earlier attempt by Pagcor to promote Internet-based gambling ran into rough sailing when the Supreme Court (SC) invalidated a contract for "sports betting and Internet gaming" between Pagcor and Sports and Games Entertainment Corp. (SAGE).

In a unanimous decision issued in January 2004, the SC ruled that Internet gambling isn’t covered by Section 10 of Presidential Decree 1869, which grants Pagcor the franchise to "operate and maintain gambling casinos, clubs and other recreation or amusement places" within the Philippines.

The SC said SAGE should obtain a separate franchise from Congress and not "ride on" the Pagcor franchise.