THE Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday said at least six sites of “e-sabong” or online cockfighting and betting are still operating despite the ban, Philippine National Police spokesperson Police Colonel Jean Fajardo said.
At a press conference, Fajardo said that PNP’s cybercrime units have been conducting cyber patrolling to monitor active e-sabong sites.
“They already identified initially anim na illegal e-sabong sites na nag-o-operate (six illegal e-sabong sites that are operating),” she said.
Fajardo said the cybercrime units are working on case buildup against the six identified illegal e-sabong sites.
According to her, they already requested social media providers to take down the concerned sites, which may take around two weeks.
Authorities are coordinating with service providers to identify the operators running the illegal sites, Fajardo said.
Following the reports on 34 sabungeros who went missing, President Rodrigo Duterte earlier approved the recommendation of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to stop e-sabong.
Duterte’s decision came following a survey conducted by the DILG in cities and provinces regarding e-sabong operations, which is being blamed for the deterioration of moral values among many Filipinos.
