CATHOLIC Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) President Cardinal Pablo David praised the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for its move against online gambling.
However, he stressed the government must do more.
In a social media post, David said the BSP’s order for e-wallets to remove links to online gambling platforms is not enough.
"Kudos to BSP for this bold move! This is definitely a good start. But not yet good enough," said David.
He insisted the government needs to impose a total ban on online gambling. "Total ban, not just regulation," David said.
He stressed that a total ban is imperative as Republic Act No. 9487 prohibits all gambling paraphernalia and equipment from being accessible to the general public.
"Online gambling circumvents this protection. Every cellphone can now be a gambling device. Anyone can play, anywhere. This is a direct bypass of the law’s safeguards," stressed David.
Last Thursday, the BSP ordered all e-wallets to remove icons and links of online gambling platforms within 48 hours. The BSP said this means e-wallets should be disconnected from online gaming platforms by Sunday. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)