ILOILO City – Gambling during wakes is allowed but there should not be too many gambling tables, according to Police General Archie Francisco Gamboa, director of the Philippine National Police (PNP).
He issued the statement during a visit to the wake of Police Captain Efren Espanto Jr. – who was killed in an encounter with rebels in Janiuay, Iloilo on Feb. 12 – at the Police Regional Office 6 in Camp Delgado here on Saturday.
There was no gambling at Espanto’s wake.
Gamboa said there are no official PNP guidelines yet on gambling during wakes but he stressed there should be a few tables only, such as one for mahjong and one for tong-its.
The police may make arrests if gambling during wakes has become unbridled, he said.
Gambling as a pastime in wakes is a Filipino tradition. It keeps people around and awake at the vigil.
“Ang problema kasi nag-e-extend ng maraming tables,” said Gamboa, lamenting that such is already going beyond the spirit of why authorities are tolerant of gambling during wakes.
In fact, he said, in the National Capital Region, the regional police office under Police Major General Debold Sinas banned all types of gambling in wakes although this earned the ire of residents.
The most popular games in wakes – which runs for days if not weeks until the burial – are mahjong and card games of various kinds.
Some sort of “tax” – the so-called “tong” – from these games is given to the family of the dead person to help defray burial expenses./PN
