Jueteng Decriminalization, Tolerable?
Jueteng has been very famous here in the Philippines and is widely patronized by Filipinos although it is illegal. According to some, it is something that shouldn’t exist but there’s more into it. As Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and other lawmakers proposed jueteng legalization, lots of contradicting and supporting ideas in this regard were brought up. What if it will be legalized? Will it be a friend or a foe? Despite all the scandals and criticisms that it is encountering, jueteng will still be undeniably beneficial to most if legalized because of the better economic condition that it can provide the Philippines. Jueteng originated from China with its name jue meaning flower and teng meaning bet. Ever since it existed in the Philippines, people considered it as an illegal number game. Despite the fact that it is illegal, there is no economic and social boundary that hinders the game because whether you are rich, middle class or poor, you can play this game. Upon winning, the lure of quick riches is within your fate. There’s no limit on minimum and maximum bets as well as the amount that you could have, just pay for all those and everything will be fine. But what if you lose? Is it a big deal? For most, that will not be. Coins are enough for one bet. And therefore, even multiple loses for a day will not be that big thing compared to the amount that you might receive when you win. Having the winning probability 1/1369 for a single bet, the big amount that you could gain is already a good motivation. According to Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, legalizing jueteng will stop all the scandals attached to it. He even noted that it could generate larger revenues for the government once legalized. Many other officials supported Enrile’s proposal such as Senator Jinggoy Estrada, Liberal Party Representative Amado Bagatsing, Senator Teofisto Guinggona III and many other. For example is Dasmariñas City Representative Elpidio Bargaza who filed