Congress urged to make e-sabong ‘transparent’ via legislation

MANILA – President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Monday urged Congress to regulate “e-sabong” or online cockfighting by issuing legislative franchises, noting this would allow more “transparency” in monitoring e-sabong activities.

He made this remark after his ally, Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa said senators are looking into transferring the authority to issue permits for e-sabong from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) to Congress.

“Ang gusto ko lang i-legislate ninyo kasi ‘yung lahat ng mga may-ari ng franchise, you know them, alam ninyo. Diyan ako medyo ano (I want you to legislate it because you know those franchise owners…) Ang (My) misgivings ko are the people behind e-sabong…Then you can pass a law making it transparent,” Duterte said in a speech delivered at Malacañan Palace.

Duterte defended his decision to allow the continued operations of e-sabong, noting that the government needed money.

“You can legislate, nasa inyo ‘yan pero kailangan ko ng pera. Huwag kang maniwala na (it’s up to you but I need money. Do not believe that) we are awash with money. We have none,” he added.

He reiterated that the government has earned over PHP640 million monthly since January from the online gambling activity.

Duterte said the disappearance of 31 “sabungeros” (cockfighting enthusiasts) as a matter that should be left to the police.

“It’s a police matter pero huwag ninyong iano kasi sayang (but do not suspend operations because it would be a waste),” he said.

He also said he wanted to personally speak to e-sabong operators himself.

“Gusto ko nga tawagin eh, gusto ko tawagin lahat ng operators. Sabi ko you are into this kind of business at ano lang ng gobyerno (I want to call all operators. I said, you are into this kind of business and), it’s a privilege actually which can be taken,” he said.

Bayanihan 2

Meanwhile, Duterte discouraged lawmakers from probing the unused funds under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or Bayanihan 2.

“Huwag ninyo munang galawin because hindi natin nasisiguro kung kailan ulit at magkakandahanap na naman ako (Do not do anything with it because we don’t know when there will be another surge and where I will find money). Of course, I’d be happy to leave the problem to the next president. Bahala na siya. Basta ako dito, ‘yan ang tingin ko (It’s up to him/her. But for me), that is how I look at the present situation,” he said.

He said the funds will be used in preparation for another possible surge in Covid-19 cases.

“But the next catastrophe to visit us, connected with Covid-19, whatever mutant there is, then we’ll have to work again and look for money to meet the exigency of the moment. That’s my take,” he added.

Duterte said if the government spent all of the Bayanihan 2 funds, they would resort to borrowing once all funds have been used up.

“Saan tayo maghanap ng pera na wala ng pera? Budgeted na lahat. The only way is mag-utang tayo (Where will we look for money now that there’s no more money? It’s all budgeted. The only way is to borrow),” he said.

The Bayanihan 2 measure provides a PHP165.5 billion fund expected to strengthen the health sector and revitalize the country’s growth.

A report from the Commission on Audit showed that a total of PHP4.99 billion under Bayanihan 2 remains unused as of mid-2021.