PNP seeks help of DITC, NTC vs e-sabong

Online cockfighting’s days are numbered after the Philippine National Police urged the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the National Telecommunications Commission to take down several e-sabong websites.

This was bared by PNP spokesperson PCol. Jean Fajardo in a public briefing on Tuesday.

Fajardo said the authorities have already submitted a list of online sites engaged in e-sabong.

“We have arrested some individuals engaged in illegal e-sabong activities. We also confiscated the equipment used,” she said.

“We will continue this as part of our intensified campaign against the proliferation of e-sabong activities.”

Last December, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. issued an executive order continuing the suspension of e-sabong operations nationwide, including the live-streaming or broadcasting of live cockfights.

Marcos said the “state is obligated to protect public health and morals and to promote public safety and the general welfare.”

Executive Order 9 orders the suspension of online/remote, or off-cockpit wagering/ betting on live cockfighting matches and/ or activities streamed or broadcast live, regardless of the location of the betting platform.

It also tasked the Philippine Amusement Gaming Corporation to coordinate with local government units, other concerned government agencies, and private entities on the implementation of the order.

A month before he stepped down from office, former President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the suspension of e-sabong operations amid the disappearance of at least 34 e-sabong aficionados nationwide. They all remain unaccounted for to date.

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group has filed cases against at least 15 personalities in connection with the missing e-sabong aficionados.