Senate Minority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) pushed back Tuesday against Malacañang’s openness to taxing online gambling instead of banning it outright.

Echoing the somewhat conditional stance taken by Senator JV Ejercito, Zubiri warned that the country risks profiting off the misery of its people instead of shielding them from what he called a rising “moral scourge.”

This came after Malacañang press briefer, Undersecretary Claire Castro, said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was open to reviewing the Department of Finance’s proposal to impose taxes on online gaming platforms to curb their spread.

But Zubiri, who has filed a bill seeking a total ban on all forms of online gambling, said such a move would be no better than monetizing addiction.

“We passed a law taxing POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators) and it did not stop the moral scourge on society. The syndicates and human trafficking cases only got worse,” Zubiri said.

“So taxing them is not an answer to the social ills it will cause our countrymen. We’re making money from the oppression and suffering of our people. In English, we’re profiting from the misery of our people. Our country is pitiful,” he said.

Likewise, the CBCP has issued a scathing condemnation of the gaming industry and the government’s inaction, warning that online gambling is anything but harmless.

“Online gambling is not innocent. It is deliberately made appealing, especially to the youth and ordinary citizens,” CBCP president Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David said.

The prelate lamented the widespread silence across institutions.

“It appears that gambling is deliberately being ignored by the media, tolerated by the government, funded by businesses, and enabled by online platforms because of the huge profits it generates,” David said, calling on all sectors—both public and private—to act.

David warned that continuous exposure to gambling erodes moral values and can lead to crime and violence. “Taking advantage of someone’s weakness for profit is a sin,” he pointed out.

For his part, Senator Ejercito pushed for a stronger crackdown, hinting at supporting a full ban depending on data arising from studies.

“So it depends—if the problem becomes extremely serious, then probably we can go from regulatory to considering a total ban on online gaming,” he said in English and Filipino.

Ejercito recently filed a Senate resolution seeking a formal inquiry into the explosive growth of online gambling, which saw gaming revenues jump to P104.12 billion in the first quarter of 2025, a 27.44-percent increase from last year, driven largely by electronic games.

“Even government employees and police officers are now reportedly hooked,” he said. “It’s not just a youth issue anymore—it’s systemic.”

Meanwhile, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) Chairman Alejandro Tengco admitted that nearly half of the country’s online gaming market operates outside regulatory oversight.

He said the agency was looking into tighter controls, including curbing outdoor and broadcast ads, and possibly banning celebrity endorsements on primetime TV.

Pagcor vowed to comply with any legislation passed to regulate online gambling more stringently. Still, data and testimonials paint a grim picture.

Atty. Nicasio Conti, CEO of Capstone Intel Corp. and a former anti-graft commissioner, noted that digital vice is spreading through social media platforms like wildfire.

“College students gambling away their allowances, minimum wage earners hooked on online bingo, and influencers normalizing betting as entertainment—this is not innovation, it’s exploitation,” he said.

Conti called for a sweeping legislative ban on all online gambling advertising, citing Italy’s “Dignity Decree” as a model.

“Italy did what many countries were afraid to do—they drew a red line,” he said. “The Philippines must stop hiding behind so-called revenue gains and prioritize public health and moral responsibility.”

Senator Risa Hontiveros has emphasized the dangers of digital gambling’s ease of access through financial technology apps.

“Phones are not casinos,” she said. “Many of our countrymen are buried in layer upon layer of debt because of e-gambling, which has been made even easier by e-wallets. For others, their lives were the cost—because it only takes a single click.”

Hontiveros has filed a bill that seeks to ban access to gambling through e-wallets and super apps, prohibit advertising in public and digital spaces, and impose strict age and spending limits.

Her proposal would require Pagcor to impose daily, weekly, and monthly betting caps. Once a limit is reached, accounts would be frozen for at least 30 days.