Tulfo: PNP, NBI must explain why e-sabong still active despite ban

Senate Committee on Games and Amusement Chair Senator Erwin Tulfo said Sunday, 31 August, that he will ask the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to explain why online cockfighting, or e-sabong, continues to operate despite being suspended by the government in 2022.

Tulfo revealed that the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has already sought the assistance of the PNP and NBI to shut these operators down, yet no action has been taken.

“With the number of people carrying roosters inside cockfighting arenas and live video streaming happening openly, it is impossible that the police chief or provincial director doesn’t know where these operations are taking place,” Tulfo said.

The senator added, “Here’s a tip: one operator runs in Central Luzon while another operates in Region 4-A, but the owner hails from the Cordillera.”

Tulfo emphasized that by the next Games and Amusement Committee hearing, he expects these illegal operations to be shut down.

“These do not only harm families, these also do not provide any benefit to the nation,” he added.

Tulfo also disclosed that he will invite the PNP provincial directors of Batangas and Pampanga, as well as the regional directors of Central Luzon and Calabarzon, including the director of the Cordillera PNP, to the upcoming Senate hearing.

“I am confident that the new PNP Chief, Gen. Jose Nartatez Jr., and NBI Officer-in-Charge Usec. Jesse Andres will take this fight against illegal gambling seriously because I know them to be good leaders,” Tulfo stated.

“If there’s a will, there’s a way. If authorities truly want to shut these operations down, there are ways to do it. But if they have the blessing of police and NBI officials, this problem will become a never-ending cycle,” he warned.

The senator further stressed that illegal e-sabong operators are earning hundreds of millions of pesos every month — yet not a single centavo is being paid in taxes to the government.