Hard work is better than luck, said Senatorial Candidate Sonia Roco, as she reaffirmed her objection to legalizing jueteng at the ANC’s televised debate on Wednesday evening.
Journalist Che-Che Lazaro, a member of the panel that interviewed the candidates in that forum, sought Mrs. Roco’s stand on “the proposal to do a Las Vegas-type gambling and entertainment complex in the Philippines.”
“It’s been there, culturally, for a long time, but to legalize jueteng would really be saying that we give value to games of chance,” answered Mrs. Roco. “And this will weaken the moral system of our children, especially, because they will now begin to count on luck instead of hard work. The value we’re trying to teach is that you work and that you earn by the sweat of your brow. But if you’re going to put games and gambling, then people who don’t even earn will go to the casino, hoping they will win, and it’s going to spoil the value system. So I’m opposed to it.”
As for the “economic value” of legalizing jueteng, “money is just money,” Mrs. Roco said. “But there are many occasions where I see that, even without money, you can get a lot of things done. Region 8, for example, is one of the poorest regions we have. But they’ve always topped the National Achievement Test for the past three years. Poor—but they topped.”
In another interview, Mrs. Roco noted the gubernatorial candidacy of Catholic priest Eddie Panlilio in Pampanga as a “surprising revelation” of how people regard jueting.
“We all know that many Filipinos resort to jueteng to find some relief. And yet, the apparent popular support enjoyed by Father Panlilio perhaps suggests changing attitudes about jueteng.”
