The Philippine political scene has once again exploded with a sensational scandal! Former Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson revealed in the Senate that two officials from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) are suspected of being addicted to gambling, losing over 600 million pesos (approximately 74 million RMB), shocking public opinion.
According to disclosures, the individuals involved include a district engineer from Bulacan Province and another mid-level official, both of whom are only at salary grade 19, which normally would not support such huge gambling funds. To conceal their identities, they even used aliases to place bets. One of them lost about 300 million pesos, and the other also lost more than 300 million.
Lacson condemned, "This is just the tip of the iceberg in Bulacan Province, and you can imagine the severity of the corruption." He emphasized that these funds are very likely from corrupt earnings and has forwarded the intelligence to DPWH and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), requesting an investigation into the source of the funds and whether the casino violated regulations in accepting bets.
The exposure of the incident quickly triggered a strong social reaction. The public generally questions: How can officials with ordinary salaries afford to gamble billions at the gambling table? This case not only highlights the long-term corruption issues within the Philippine government departments but also rekindles concerns about the failure of systemic regulation.
