QuestionsQuestions (LETTER OF INSTRUCTIONS NO. 816)
It is intended to exclude certain specified games (e.g., domino, bingo, poker—when not played with five-card stud, cuajo, pangguinge, and mahjong) from the gambling prohibition under Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1602, provided they are played as parlor/home entertainment and not used in places habitually used for gambling.
LOI No. 816 is tied to PD No. 1602. PD No. 1602 is intended to discourage and prohibit gambling that is not regulated or sanctioned under existing laws.
Domino, bingo, poker when not played with five-card stud, cuajo, pangguinge (spelled “pangguingue/pangguinge” in the text), and mahjong.
It conditions the exemption: the games must be intended strictly as parlor games or for home entertainment, rather than as gambling activities.
First, they must not be played in places habitually used for gambling. Second, any betting must not be disguised in a way that defeats the intent of PD No. 1602.
It narrows the exemption: poker is only exempt when it is NOT played with five-card stud. Poker played with five-card stud remains within the gambling prohibition unless otherwise legally sanctioned.
It is addressed to key officials of defense, local government, the AFP, the AFP Chief of Staff, the Constabulary, HIP (a government bureau/agency referenced in the order), and the Task Force Anti-Gambling. This shows it is directive and intended for enforcement/operations within these agencies.
It indicates the President, through LOI No. 816, exercises authority to exclude certain games from the application of PD No. 1602, effectively creating exemptions within the broader anti-gambling policy.
The exemption can be defeated if the games occur in venues known for gambling activity, regardless of the claimed purpose. Enforcement would likely assess the place’s established character and usage.
It means that—when the enumerated games meet the stated conditions—the games are taken out of the coverage of the prohibition in PD No. 1602, i.e., they are not treated as prohibited gambling under that decree.
Probably not. While the setting might meet the “home entertainment” condition, disguised betting would defeat the requirement that betting is not disguised to circumvent the intent of PD No. 1602.
The exemption would likely fail because the games are being played in a place habitually used for gambling, which the LOI expressly prohibits for the exemption to apply.
It was signed on February 20, 1979. The date matters for understanding the historical enforcement policy, determining which rules were in force at particular times, and analyzing whether later laws may have modified or superseded the policy.
It functions as a targeted exception: it recognizes that certain traditional parlor/home games may not be gambling when played under specific safeguards, thus carving out those games from the general prohibition.
It was signed by President Ferdinand E. Marcos. The signature indicates it is a presidential issuance commanding government agencies to implement the exemption under PD No. 1602.