NILINAW ng Philippine Racing Commission (Philracom) na walang kapangyarihan ang ahensiya para ipatigil ang online cockfight betting sa lahat ng off-track betting stations (OTB) sa bansa.
Nagbigay ng pahayag ang Philracom bilang sagot sa alegasyon ng isang grupo ng ‘petitioner’ laban sa online betting sa sabong.
“To date, the Philracom has not received any order from the Supreme Court requiring it to comment on the alleged Petition for Mandamus filed by a certain Liga ng Eksplosibong Pagbabago Inc. (LEPI) to compel Philracom to order OTBs to stop the betting on online sabong,” pahayag ni Atty. Pilita Venturanza, Philracom's legal counsel.
“However, if such a case were really filed, it would be a waste of precious time for both the Supreme Court and Philracom. In layman's terms, mandamus is a legal remedy to compel a government agency to do some specific act which the said agency is obliged to do under the law.”
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Sa petisyon ng LEPI sa Supreme Court, iginigiit nito na ang Philracom ang regulatory body na may kapangyarian na pigilan at ipahinto ang online sabong sa OTBs.
Ayon sa Philracom, hindi nila ito mandato at hindi sila mapipilit na gumawa ng aksiyon na lihis sa kanilang kapangyarihan batay sa batas.
PD 420 (as amended by PD 1095), the very law that created the Philracom has expressly excluded from its jurisdiction functions that are related to the supervision and regulation of betting in horse-racing and has conferred the same to the Games and Amusements Board,” pahayag ni Atty. Venturanza.
“How can the court compel Philracom to perform an act that the law has expressly excluded from its functions and jurisdiction?” aniya.
Iginiit ng Philracom na ang kapangyarihang saklaw ng batas na nagbuo sa ahensiya ang siyang sinusunod at hindi tatalikdan nang mga opisyal at namumuno rito.
“If the news report is true, it is bewildering that LEPI was able to submit a 19-page petition with the Supreme Court overlooking that most basic and elementary requirement,” sambit ni Atty. Venturanza.
Ayon kay Philracom Executive Director Dr. Andrew M. Buencamino, tila nagkumahog ang petitioner para bulabugin ang maling bakuran na nais nilang linisin.
“If they just did their assignment, they will find out that online betting, especially that of cockfighting does not fall under the Philracom, but that of the Games and Amusements Board,” paglilinaw ni Dr. Buencamino. “Either this, or they are doing this for some other reason we don't know of.”
Sa kabila nito, magpapatawag ang Philracom nang multi-sectoral meeting upang talakayin ang isyu ng ‘online cockfighting’ upang masuri rin ang posibleng maging epekto nito sa industriya ng horse-racing.
