'Complicit or incompetent?' PNP, NBI, CICC under fire for inaction on 'e-sabong kingpins'

Several law enforcement groups came under fire from senators on Wednesday, after they were accused of incompetence and potential complicity for failing to strictly monitor illegal e-sabong operations despite a substantial P1.3 billion in intelligence funds. 

Online sabong (cockfighting) operations have been suspended as early as May 2022, pursuant to the verbal order of then president Rodrigo Duterte, citing its social costs to the public, including the reported kidnapping of players. 

Duterte’s successor, President Marcos Jr., ordered the continued suspension of e-sabong operations by formalizing it through Executive Order (EO) 9, signed in December of the same year.

However, three years after the EO took effect, a handful of e-sabong operations—allegedly run by politicians—persisted across the country. 

Armed with live e-sabong footage as evidence, Senator Raffy Tulfo chided members of the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG), Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), and the National Bureau of Investigation’s Cybercrime Division, for their supposed lack of competence and urgency to curb the illicit operation and build a case against its “big-time” backers. 

According to Tulfo, the ongoing operation is based in Central Luzon and is run by gambling “kingpins,” namely “Pineda” and “Bernos.” 

“When it comes to tupada (cockfighting), tongits, and cara y cruz, you immidiate;y arrest offenders. But you can’t catch someone this big?” Tulfo said in Filipino at the third hearing of the Senate committee on games and amusement on gambling-related activities. 

“The owner of this, you probably know him, he's a gambling kingpin, and is untouchable. It's been going on for so many months,” he added. 

Senator Win Gatchlian raised the same concern, saying that a day before Wednesday’s hearing, his staff accessed an illegal e-sabong site. The site was only taken down shortly before the Senate hearing started.

“I’m sure after this hearing, they will be operating again. So, we want to know from our enforcement agencies, why does this still exist? With the big budget allocated for intelligence funds for cybercrime prevention, why is something as simple as illegal e-sabong still illegal, widespread, and thriving in the country? Gatchlian chimed in in Filipino.

CICC Executive Director Renato Paraiso explained that law enforcement groups have been carrying out remedial measures to ensure that all illegal e-sabong sites are taken down.

As for the e-sabong operations in Central Luzon, he said the company was already shut down, but only resumed under a new site. He assured senators that the CICC could take down the site within the day.

Tulfo, however, was not convinced and pressed authorities to keep an eye on all e-sabong sites to ensure they cease functioning. 

“Again, those [sites] that you took down referred by the PNP, they are small-time or what you call guerrillas. But the biggest one in the entire Philippines, located in Central Luzon, you haven’t been able to take down,” he argued. 

Aside from Central Luzon, there are likewise ongoing illegal e-sabong operations in Regions 3, 4A, and the Cordillera Administrative Region—all backed by political clans and influential figures, according to panel chairperson Erwin Tulfo.

The government risks losing a substantial revenue that could be generated through these illegal sites, which do not remit taxes, the chair warned. 

Additionally, he stressed that this is also “unfair” to legitimate gambling sites registered by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, which are compliant with paying regulatory fees and taxes. 

As of present, 7,135 illegal platforms and sites have been blocked by the PNP-ACG’s service provider.