AFTER the tragic attack at a luxury casino hotel bared the extreme consequences of gambling addiction, a lawmaker is now seeking to impose a P3,000 entrance charge from all gamers to serve as a “deterrent,” more specifically to “poor addicts.”
The House bill, filed by Isabela Representative Rodolfo Albano III, will mandate “all person” entering “any and all casinos and similar gaming establishment” with a purpose of engaging in gambling to pay P3,000, except casino officials and employees.
According to Albano, the bill will mostly be targeted against “poor people” who end up gambling “all they have left.”
“It only seeks to address some poor people who have no money yet go inside and gamble all they have left of their families…Deterrent also to poor addicts,” Albano said in a phone interview
The proposal came after the recent tragedy that struck Resorts World Manila, after a lone assailant later identified as ex-Department of Finance tax specialist Jessie Javier Carlos engaged in a shooting spree and torched gaming tables, causing fire that led to the death by suffocation of 37 victims.
Carlos reportedly sold his family’s properties to sustain his addiction, which caused his estrangement from his wife. His wife had even sought the help of Pagcor to ban him from all casinos.
According to the bill, the proceeds of the entrance fees will be under the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s supervision, and shall be utilized “for the establishment and maintenance of children and youth welfare centers to be established nationwide.”
“[The] fifty percent of the amount collected in any casino shall be for children and youth welfare programs in the city or municipality where the casino is located,” the bill read.
Several government agencies are currently conducting their investigation on the circumstances surrounding the Resorts World Manila attack. (SunStar Philippines)