Bishops: No betting, please

As the world watches the “Fight of the Century” between the Philippines’ Manny Pacquiao and the unbeaten American Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Sunday, an official of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is discouraging spectators from betting on either fighter.

Fr. Edwin Gariguez, executive secretary of the CBCP National Secretariat for Social Action, said on Saturday that instead of engaging in illegal gambling, people should instead use their money to help the poor.

“Boxing is a sport… but betting or gambling seeps in and the sad part of it is, it has become a form of business, it has already become a big industry,” Gariquez said.

“A lot of people are in need, a lot of people have nothing in life. I hope we have social conscience, because if you have that, you would know that the money involved here is big and it can help other people,” he said.

Gariguez criticized Filipinos who traveled to Las Vegas to watch the fight.

“They can watch it on television, why do they have to fly to the US? The money they spent on airfare and [hotels] would have gone a long way [to help] the poor,” he said.

“There has to be a little sacrifice. You know the stewardship concept of money, it’s given to you by God, it’s a blessing that should be used in a good way and one way of doing that is to use it for helping those in need,” he added.

Gariguez said Filipinos could show support for Pacquiao by praying for him to win the fight.

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