Lawmaker Loses CA Membership Over Cockfight Video

Rep. Nicanor Briones of AGAP party-list has lost his seat in the Commission on Appointments (CA) after footage of him allegedly watching a cockfight video during the House session on Monday, July 28, went viral on social media.

A source told The Philippine STAR on Thursday, July 31, that as part of the minority bloc, Briones was supposed to be its representative in the 12-member contingent in the bicameral CA.

“But this issue came along. And he admitted being in the picture. That’s why he was replaced by Rep. Allan Ty of party-list LPGMA,” the source said.

Being a member of the House contingent in the CA has its accompanying perks, among them extra fund allocation for the representative himself, extra office and extra personnel who will also have additional emoluments aside from their usual salaries and allowances.

Briones and APEC party-list Rep. Sergio Dagooc, both members of the 30-member opposition bloc, were the two lawmakers caught on video watching games on their smart phones: Briones watching e-sabong and Dagooc playing digital billiards.

In an interview with reporters, Briones admitted that he was the House member who was caught on video watching a cockfight on his cellphone during the House session, but strongly denied that he was watching e-sabong, an online gambling platform featuring cockfights.

Briones clarified that a relative sent him an invitation to sponsor a traditional cockfight.

“My conscience is clear. I don’t engage in cockfight. You will not see me in any cockpit. This is fake news. They are saying it is online sabong when I don’t even have GCash. I don’t even have money transfer online,” Briones told reporters in an interview.

“Maybe, there is somebody who wants to sabotage me because I am clashing with many. The number one that I am fighting against are the smugglers,” he added.

Briones apologized to the House of Representatives and the public for his involvement in the controversy.

He said the viral video is a violation of the Data Privacy Act.

De Lima renews call banning online gambling

Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima renewed on Thursday her call to prohibit all forms of online gambling as the Senate committee on games and amusement intends to conduct a probe into the proliferation of online gambling in the country next week.

“Clearly, online gambling is a growing menace that should be stopped and banned immediately. What are we waiting for? To worsen the destruction of the lives of families because of online gambling? What date is it now? Stop it now?” De Lima said in a statement.

She lamented the non-mention of online gambling during the 4th State of the Nation Address of President Marcos despite the growing clamor against online gambling.

As part of her priority measures, De Lima filed House Bill No. 2129 or the “Anti-Online or E-Gambling Act” which seeks to ban all forms of online gambling.

Under HB 2129, the establishment, operation, maintenance of online gambling platforms; promotion, advertisement, endorsement, or distribution of materials for online gambling in traditional media and digital platforms; enabling online payments, electronic wallets, fund transfers, or withdrawals or other digital payments connected to online gambling, and linking e-wallets and mobile applications to online gambling platforms, among other activities providing access and facilitating online gambling are prohibited.

As to the concern that implementing a total ban on online gambling would likely drive the industry underground, De Lima said that her proposed measure will mandate relevant government agencies to conduct an all-out crackdown on illegal platforms and activities related to online gambling, similar to what the government did to Philippine offshore gaming operators.

Meanwhile, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president Kalookan Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David on Thursday said that the government has the first moral obligation and should not profit from the vice of gambling.

This was Cardinal David’s reply to Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) Chairman Alejandro Tengco who sent him a three-page letter dated July 3 and explained the safeguards that would protect the public, including the youth, from illegal gambling.

“We fully agree that addressing gambling’s social risks requires a whole-of-society approach. But the first moral obligation rests with the State not to profit from vice. When the government acts as promoter, regulator, and beneficiary of gambling revenues, it becomes complicit in the very harm it claims to guard against. No tax revenue is worth the shattered lives, families, and futures lost to gambling addiction,” he added.

The CBCP president also disagreed with the PAGCOR chief’s argument that banning online gambling would only force it to go underground.

“The solution is not to normalize harmful behaviors but to strengthen law enforcement, digital literacy, and community support systems that help people resist addiction. Revenue must never outweigh the moral duty to protect the common good,” he said. – With Evelyn Macairan