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News report: The Manila Times and the Philippine Daily Enquirer have reported two separate requests for an investigation into gambling activities in the Cagayan Export Zone Authority at Port Irene, an online gambling licensing jurisdiction.
Archbishop Oscar Cruz of the Lingayen-Dagupan diocese last week urged the Philippines Senate to look into the online gambling operations at the Cagayan Export Zone Authority in Port Irene, Sta. Ana, Cagayan. Bishop Cruz is a veteran campaigner against gambling and appears to have found a new target.
Regional representative Senator Nene Pimentel recommended that Bishop Cruz and other priests file a complaint in the Senate, saying that he was sensitive to the objections of the priests, but that the Senate could only act on charges filed before the chamber.
“The Senate cannot make the first move. They should come out to air their complaint formally,” Nene stressed.
The Senate Committee on Ways and Means headed by Senator Chiz Escudero investigated the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) operations last week, but this was in connection with allegations of car smuggling, and not Internet gaming.
The Manila Times gave background on CEZA, claiming it was created through a law authored by Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, a Cagayanon. The law authorised it to operate all kinds of sports and recreational activities, including online gambling, dog racing and gambling casino activities. Cagayan is the only province in the Philippines with a gambling establishment that has no license from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
Bishop Cruz described the gambling operation in Cagayan as “a slap in the face” to the government campaign against all forms of vice, although most online gambling is done by “foreigners.” To neutralise opposition from the Catholic Church, which is against all forms of gambling, CEZA has argued that the casinos cater exclusively to foreign players or their proxies, with Filipinos barred from betting.
In a separate initiative, Senator Jamby Madrigal urged the Senate Ways and Means Committee to investigate the cyber gambling operations at the Cagayan Economic Zone (CEZ), which she said were “inexplicably” not covered by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor). The Senator said that Port Irene the only free port legally allowed to issue online gambling licenses to offshore companies without Pagcor’s approval.
