SENATE President Vicente Sotto III yesterday said government can tap the estimated P328 billion unutilized funds in the government’s annual budget to cover the P640 million monthly lost revenue due to the suspension of e-sabong operations.
Sotto, who is running for vice president in the May 9 elections, made the suggestion when asked during the Commission on Elections’ PILIpinas Forum how the government can recoup the monthly revenues from the online game.
President Duterte on Monday night ordered the immediate suspension of online cockfighting games following the recommendation of the Department of Interior and Local Government.
“If you are talking only of P640 million, there is P328 billion a year unused by the national government for the last 10 years and we’ve been crying out loud about this P328 billion. Wala naman kaming magagawa, lehislatura lang kami. Kaya kami pinagka-cut ‘yung mga hindi magagamit (We cannot do anything about this because we are in the legislature. So, what we do is to cut the budget which we think will not be utilized). But then you know, the national government has been lax in this particular issue,” Sotto said.
Sotto said the amount can be even more since the “abused” funds, or money which goes to corruption, is not included in the estimated P328 billion.
“Yung P328 billion unused pa lang. Eh ‘yung abused? Kaya po pati ang utang, hindi kailangan mangutang ng ganyang kalaki. Na-bloat lang ng kaunti dahil sa pandemic at hindi pa rin tama (That P328 billion only represents the unused funds. But how about the abused [funds]? The government actually do not need to borrow huge amounts of money, especially during the pandemic when the country’s debt ballooned, but even that was not necessary),” he said.
“So really, it is a matter of using the budget of the government properly, preparing it properly and using it properly. Hindi po tayo mababaon nang ganyan. P5 trillion ang iniwan ni Noy Aquino. P5 trillion lang ang iniwan na utang. In six years, P12 trillion ang utang natin? Well, your guess is as good as mine kung bakit nangyari yan (It is really a matter of using the budget of the government properly, preparing it properly and using it properly.
We should not have sunk deeper like what’s happening now. The late president Aquino left us with a P5 trillion debt. In six years, our debt has increased to P12 trillion? Well, your guess is as good as mine why that happened),” he added.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año yesterday said e-sabong operators who will be caught not complying with the President’s suspension order will be arrested by the police.
Año said police will do random checks of e-sabong arenas and betting stations to make sure that they are closed. — With Victor Reyes
