During SONA 2025, Marcos Jr. Made No Mention of Online Gambling
Marcos Jr. eyes the inclusion of the Catholic bishops and priests in the forming of the policies for online gambling in the Philippines.
Most of the senators in the Senate and the members of the House of Representatives were present during the 4th State of the Nation Address of Pres. Bongbong Marcos. The annual address was held at the Batasang Pambansa last Monday, July 28.
Marcos Jr. made mention of the accomplishments of the government in the past three (3) years of his term like the increase in the agricultural products. He also boasted that the government was able to show the public that the P20 per kilo rice is achievable without putting the farmers in the losing end.
During the Marcos SONA 2025, Pres. Bongbong Marcos promised that the affordable rice will be made available nationwide. He also vowed to boost the coconut industry in the country and to build more classroooms.
Marcos Jr. assured that education remains a top priority of his administration. According to him, aside from the building of more classrooms, the government will be extending efforts to digitize the schools like giving them SMART TVs for educational use.
Pres. Marcos also claimed that the teachers will be paid for their overtime work and the excess in their workload. Aside from mentioning the achievements and targets of the government, the President also took swipe at the government officials who are engaged in illegal activities.
The Chief Executive mentioned these illegal ways which include kickbacks, “for the boys”, and many other illegal ways that some government officials allegedly do to pocket public funds. He told them to be ashamed of what they are doing.
However, there’s one big thing that many Filipinos expected and hoped to hear during the Marcos SONA 2025 but the President mentioned it — the online gambling. Recently, the President explained why he did not make mention of it during his annual report.
Based on a report on GMA News, Pres. Bongbong Marcos claimed that the government still have to form a body that will craft the policy for online gambling. Marcos Jr. assured that he has started organizing one and they want some Catholic bishops and priests to be part of the said body.
“I have already started to organize a… shall we, to convene a conference of those who are… all the stakeholders. We are talking about, maraming marami tayong naririnig from the CBCP. So, sama natin sila. Mga pari, mga obispo. The parents, of course, are stakeholders here kasi victimized demographic, ang mga kabataan,” the President said.
According to Marcos Jr., after forming the body that will craft the policies for online gambling, they will have to talk about who will be doing the regulation if they will regulate it. Based on the report, the President is seemingly not in favor of implementing a full ban on the matter.
“The first effect of banning it fully is to put it underground. And then we have no control. ‘Yan talagang wala na tayong recognition,” Marcos Jr. said.
The President claimed that online gambling is supposedly not the problem but its social effects on the children and those who are already hooked to it. Based on the report, he stressed that one of the things that must be studied on is how to make people hooked to it stop and to come up with a plan that would address the problem.
The 4th SONA of Pres. Bongbong Marcos earned different comments from those who attended it. While Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Police General Nicolas Torre III gave it a 5.5 stars even if 5 is the highest, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano claimed that it is the first time that he heard in a SONA that a flood control project caused the flooding.