HAPPY WEEKEND

Gambling in tourist town
GINA DIZON

Cordillerans from the international community supported the plea of Sagadans to rid the tourist town of gambling operations. Posting their signatures on the net via BIBAK and Mountain Province nets, Cordillerans based in the US, Australia, Canada, forwarded their support to the petition of the residents of this tourist town.

Residents of this peaceful village wrote town Police Insp. Eduardo Tufay to stop gambling operations in their hometown. Apparently, gambling has reached a point where savings of families and their properties as well are being pinched off for gambling.

Truly, this move by the residents deserve to be supported for the basic reason that a person works for what he receives. This is cultural, moral, and legal as well. With a people who are known for their hard work and industry, gambling just isn’t a way of livelihood in order to get by among the people in this village.

Work means getting up as early as 5 a.m., preparing food for the family and preparing to work in the fields as well. Land is farmed regularly from weeding to tilling to harvest with women, men, and the children taking part in the farm work. Eating from the toils of the soil goes along with the value of work and getting what one deserves from the work one has placed in.

One who goes outside of the soil and works in other legitimate occupations in and outside of the village including migrant work takes on that discipline one has learned at home. This gambling where one sits and tosses on those gambling dices and cards seemingly does not speak of what work means -- culturally and morally.

It’s not a surprise that people in this town are taking this illegal practice seriously. Although grumbling has been heard among some people for quite some time, a signature campaign such as this has gone to a real proper petition to do something about it.

People in this community are known for their frugality as well. Which thus explains their plea to “save the countless families of their savings and properties”. Where the letter is directed to the police inspector to consider gambling being “rampant”, this means policemen have to be serious about it and do their job, pronto and nothing more, nothing less.

It means the law should be upheld and the culture to be upheld as well. In the same manner, it means the peoples’ legitimate and valid sentiments have to be upheld as well and not to be subservient to the wishes of a few gamblers. Calling on Insp. Tufay to act on the petition against gambling.