THE House of Representatives approved on second reading House Bill 4513 or the proposed “Anti Game-Fixing Act.”
It would prohibit and provide penalties for game-fixing, point-shaving, and game machinations in any sports competition.
Under HB 4513, violators, who resort to game fixing such as acts of point-shaving and game machinations, would suffer the penalty of imprisonment of three to six years and a fine of P1 million to P5 million.
The bill also proposes perpetual disqualification from participation in amateur and professional sports. In his sponsorship speech, Committee on Youth and Sports Development Chairperson and Isabela Rep. Faustino Michael Carlos Dy III stated that the punishment have to be extremely severe as a deterrent, and to show the concerned sector, especially the youth, that this offense is being taken seriously.
“Sports is about fair play. It is not a matter of winning at all cost by all means. It is about playing the game, or as the Olympic creed states, ‘It is not about the winning, but taking part that counts in sports,” he said. Principal authors of the measure are Dy III and 1-PACMAN Party-list Rep. Michael Romero, Ph.D.
