‘Law needed to bar government workers from gambling’

MANILA, Philippines —  Congress would have to pass a measure to prohibit all government workers from engaging in any form of online gambling, a legal expert from the Civil Service Commission (CSC) said yesterday.

State agencies can also craft their own internal policies against gambling, similar to the recent directive of the Department of the Interior and Local Government barring its personnel from accessing online gambling platforms, CSC Assistant Commissioner for legal affairs Ariel Ronquillo told dzBB.

Current gambling prohibitions among state officials and employees do not cover emerging illegal gambling games played online, he noted.

“What is provided in the Administrative Code of 1987 is that government workers cannot engage in any form of gambling expressly prohibited by law,” Ronquillo said.

The CSC’s hands are tied when it comes to restricting civil servants from playing these games, he said.

“Generally, if the gambling is not prohibited by law, there is no corresponding prohibition that we can implement,” Ronquillo said.

The DILG’s directive applies only to its officials, personnel and attached agencies and not the entire government bureaucracy, he noted.

Covered by Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla’s directive are the DILG, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Bureau of Fire Protection and local government units.

Also covered by the policy are the National Youth Commission, Philippine Commission on Women, National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, Philippine Public Safety College and National Police Commission. – EJ Macababbad