An archbishop in the Philippines, Oscar Cruz of the Lingayen-Dagupan archdiocese, has made it his mission in life to rid the Philippines of gambling. With this aim some months ago he accused President Arroya and her family of profiting from illegal jeuteng revenue, bringing former operators and financiers as witnesses. Prior to that Cruz had said that gambling money had financed Arroyo’s 2004 presidential campaign after the previous President of the Philippines had been ousted over allegations of receiving money from jeuteng (a numbers game) operators.

On his own website Archbishop Cruz says that jeuteng is to the Philippines what illegal drugs is to Colombia, an analogy that could be questioned. Comparisons could be drawn, however, between his own stance on gambling and that of some archbishops in Mexico who campaign against regulating for casinos despite the millions of dollars being made by illegal operators. In the Philippines Cruz is frequently at odds with other Church leaders who obtain charitable donations from legitimate gambling operations in the country. He is determined to prove that his Church can survive without such contributions.

Death threats and attempts at bribery have so far failed to halt the Cruz campaign but a nation of gamblers will probably prevent a lasting success. From jeuteng to cockfighting, the Philippines has a long tradition with gambling – and gambling as part of entertainment at Church holidays. The illegal jeuteng games provide employment for large numbers of poor Filipinos who would otherwise have no income. Many would argue that legalizing the game would lessen the opportunity for gambling ‘lords’ to derive the huge profits they presently make from running the illegal games, and that the proceeds could be put to better use by charitable institutions than by those seeking to influence politicians. (E-11.08.05)

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