On August 18, Mayor Frederick Siao of Iligan City, Philippines, signed Executive Order No. 95, which comprehensively prohibits all gambling activities within the municipal government offices, including card games, digital games, and online gambling platforms such as Scatter. The ban applies to all civil servants, employees, consultants, and non-employees.
Mayor Siao stated that gambling disrupts work order and can breed corruption and conflicts of interest, thus it must be eradicated at the source. According to the new regulations, civil servants and employees found violating the rules will be subject to administrative sanctions under the civil service system, with severe cases possibly facing suspension, dismissal, or even criminal charges; non-employees will be warned for the first offense and expelled from the office premises for subsequent offenses, potentially facing legal consequences.
Department heads are required to strictly enforce the ban, and violations can be reported with evidence, to be assessed and advised upon by the Human Resources and Legal departments. The mayor emphasized that public officials must remain vigilant and report promptly to ensure policy implementation.
This initiative is supported by Congressman Rolando Valeriano, who noted that Iligan City's approach reflects a strong societal demand for control over online gambling and called for similar measures to be adopted nationwide. The Philippine Congress has repeatedly pushed for tighter regulation of online gambling in recent years, even proposing a complete ban on related activities and requiring payment platforms like GCash and Maya to sever channels for gambling-related transactions.
