House bill proposes law vs. ticket scalping

A bill seeking to prohibit the act of ticket "scalping" has been filed at the House of Representatives on Monday.

House Bill 8694, authored by Ako Bikol party-list Representatives Alfredo Garbin Jr., Rodel Batocabe and Christopher Co, was filed in light of the ticket scalping incidents in the recent Game 1 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Men's Basketball Tournament Finals between the UP Fighting Maroons and the Ateneo Blue Eagles.

In their resolution, the lawmakers said there have been "perennial" reports of scalping incidents in entertainment events, where unscrupulous persons re-sell tickets outside the event venue at higher prices.

"The act of scalping should be prohibited, because it is a fraudulent act which harms the ordinary patrons of an entertainment event, who would need to shell out excessive amounts, just to purchase admission tickets to the event," the resolution read.

According to Garbin, House Bill 8694, if enacted, will be the first law that is national in scope to prohibit scalping.

Individuals covered by the provision of the bill are those who engaged in the practice of scalping themselves as well as those who buy tickets from the scalpers.

The law also prohibits any person to sell complimentary tickets to an entertainment event regardless of amount or form of payment.

Violators of the provisions of the bill may be slapped with a fine of P40,000 or imprisonment of six months or both for the first offense, P100,000 or imprisonment of one year or both for the second offense, and P250,000 or imprisonment of three years for the third offense.

Police on Saturday arrested nine scalpers within the vicinity of the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City who were selling tickets for the UAAP Men's Basketball Tournament Finals Game 1 between the UP Fighting Maroons and the Ateneo Blue Eagles at higher prices.

VIP tickets, regularly priced at P450, were being traded by the scalpers for P3,000, while passes for the lower and upper boxes were being sold at almost five times its original price at P1,500 and P1,000 respectively.

Moreover, the overpriced general admission tickets were pegged at P500 to P750, which was ten times its regular rate, while the coral tickets intended as complimentary passes were being sold for P700. —NB, GMA News