PDU30 ‘ends’ e-sabong
By Nidz Godino
“So ginawa ni secretary yung trabaho niya and he reported, validated ‘yung naririnig ko… may naririnig na ako loud and very clear to me , it is working against our values… ‘yung impact sa pamilya at sa tao, ang labas, hindi na natutulog yung mga sabungero 24 hours,” President Rodrigo Duterte said in his taped address aired he would order the end of e-sabong operations upon recommendation of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), citing its negative social impacts to Filipinos.
This came following the agency’s survey, which he said found that gambling platform “is working against our values.”
“The recommendation of Secretary Año is do away with e-sabong…he cited validation report coming from all sources…it’s his recommendation and I agree with it…it is good…so e-sabong will end by tonight…bukas, lalabas ito bukas,” he added.
At least 30 sabungeros have remained missing due to gambling platform.
President Duterte earlier refused to halt e-sabong operations, citing the need for government income following pandemic.
President Duterte earlier threatened to kill e-sabong franchises in the country and he is willing to forego billions of pesos in revenue from gambling platform if authorities link illegal activities to it.
While President Duterte did not explicitly mention cases of missing sabungeros, he ordered cops to “solve the crime” that involve “many personalities.”
” The problem is this, they keep on betting…they sell their properties to bet, according to outsiders… if it is true, then I will stop it,” President Duterte said in his speech during groundbreaking of an overseas Filipino workers (OFW) center in Las Piñas City.
” I will make sure before I go, I will stop it if it is true, but I have to sacrifice billions that we would have earned kung nand’yan yan… police should work on it. Solve the crime, whoever it is,” he continued.
Some policemen and businessman Atong Ang have been dragged in disappearances of cockfighting enthusiasts. They denied involvement.
In his previous speeches, President Duterte rejected calls to end e-sabong operations, citing at least P300 million that government generates from it monthly.
But he had blamed “evil men” for the disappearances of cockfighting enthusiasts. A Senate body has passed a resolution to suspend e-sabong operations while the probe is still ongoing.
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) had earned P3.7 billion from April to December 2021 from e-sabong, and another P1.4 billion so far this year.
There are at least 30 missing sabungeros so far, according to authorities. The interior department said they already have 8 suspects, while the national police said 6 have already been “positively identified.”
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said his agency has brought the matter to the National Bureau of Investigation, local courts, and the Department of Justice to “expedite resolution of cases.”
During the same speech in Las Pinas, President Duterte said his funds for contingency plans and intelligence were already depleted because of pandemic.
He did not mention how much of these funds went to the government’s COVID-19 response.
” At the end of the year, if I have the billions and 640 million a month, it will be my immediate contribution. The pandemic depleted my contingency and intelligence funds,” he said, in the context of e-sabong revenue that government is earning.
” I gave the police and military ,I said, you will just have to work on it…if you need to do intelligence work, you can walk because we do not have any money…that’s what happened,” he added.
In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, President Duterte’s office has P8.28 billion in surveillance funds.
Late that year, the President refused to tell Congress how intelligence funds in 2021’s national budget would be spent, noting that these were for programs and projects “related to national security”, and matters related to this “are deemed confidential or classified information.”
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon had said President Duterte has a budget of P16.4 billion for anti-insurgency and P9.5 billion for intelligence funds in the 2021 budget.
This year, the Office of the President has around P4.5 billion in intelligence fund
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