Cruz says Pagcor entices people to gamble; family values endangered

With its gimmicks enticing people to gamble, can the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) ever reconcile its programs with its multimillion-peso tri-media advertisements? Lingayen-Dagupan archbishop Oscar Cruz posed this question Saturday after lamenting that Pagcor continues to come up with programs that can earn billions but at the cost of family values. “Never mind the lost of precious pesos that can be put to better use. So what if fortunes are swallowed by gambling machines? There is nothing to worry when young and old people become gambling addicts, their families broken, their futures destroyed. Such could very well be the corporate motto of Pagcor," he said. Yet, he said that if Pagcor’s efforts are for the common welfare, public officials are forbidden to frequent the casinos it operates. He added private business corporations do not welcome gamblers among their employees, and even the U.S. Department of State warned that casinos are potential money-laundering conduits. More funny and amusing, he said, Pagcor spends millions in tri-media advertisements to promote its charity works and other community-building projects. “But what these ads do not mention is that these projects came at the expense of personal losses of gamblers, and form the social costs of gambling," he said. He also scored Pagcor for repeatedly bragging about the billions it gets every quarter, and how great is its management and how high-tech its gambling machines are. “But is rather quiet about who are its frequent moneyed clients just as it is silent on where the rest of billions goes after deducting its grant of some thousands of pesos here and there," he said. “Whether Pagcor admits it or not, as gambling does not build human dignity, neither can it make a people better nor a republic strong for that matter in fact, it is not impossible that together with other vices, it weakens the already weak value system of gamblers as well as the social fabric of our nation," he added. Earlier, Cruz blasted Pagcor for its “VIP Slots Club" project envisioned to rise in Balibago, Angeles City, outside existing hotel premises. Citing reports reaching him, he said the project will likely stand and operate next to a chicken restaurant frequented by families and their friends.-GMANews.TV