Senators eye transfer of power to issue e-sabong licenses to Congress —Dela Rosa

Senators are looking into transferring the authority to issue online cockfighting or “e-sabong” licenses from the Philippine Amusement Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to Congress, Senator Ronald dela Rosa said Tuesday.

In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, Dela Rosa said this is one of the recommendations being discussed in the Senate in a bid to properly regulate online cockfighting activities.

“‘Yun nga ‘yung pinag-uusapan namin na kung puwedeng tanggaling sa PAGCOR ‘yung power to issue licenses at ito ay hahawakan na ng Kongreso through legislative franchise,” Dela Rosa said.

(That is one of the recommendations that we are discussing. We are looking into removing the power to issue licenses from PAGCOR and transferring it to Congress.)

Congress also has the oversight power over online cockfighting activities though the Senate Committee on Games and Amusement, he added.

Dela Rosa explained anew e-sabong's social cost such as “addiction,” noting its 24/7 operations that he said can reach overseas.

“Yung e-sabong is very addictive. Bakit na-adik ‘yung mga tao? Dahil sa frequency. 24/7, walang hinto,” he said.

(E-sabong is very addictive. Why do people are getting hooked on this? Because it operates 24/7.)

He said he is looking into reducing the frequency of online cockfights and this may follow the provisions under the Cockfighting Law.

Under Presidential Decree 449, cockfighting shall be allowed only in licensed cockpits during Sundays and legal holidays, except on December 30, June 12, November 30, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Election Day, and during local fiestas for not more than three days.

“Unique animal itong e-sabong. So, the bottomline here is the frequency should be lowered to cure addiction,” Dela Rosa said.

(E-sabong is a unique animal. So, the bottomline here is the frequency should be lowered to cure addiction.)

While the recommendation to transfer the power to issue licenses to Congress is being floated in the Senate, Dela Rosa admitted that some of their colleagues in the House of Representatives are also operators of cockpits.

He also expressed concern on the length of the effectivity of the law should Congress push to regulate e-sabong through a legislative franchise.

“‘Ito ang isang downside d’yan. Bigyan mo ng prangkisa 25 years yang prangkisa, 25 years na mamayagpag ang mga operators sa e-sabong industry,” Dela Rosa said.

(The downside is if we issue a legislative franchise, it will be effective for 25 years. These operators in the e-sabong industry will benefit for 25 years.)

As of Tuesday, 23 senators have already signed proposed Senate Resolution 996, which urges PAGCOR to suspend online sabong's license to operate and stop all activities related to it until the cases of missing cockfighting enthusiasts or "sabungeros" are resolved.

On Monday, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said President Rodrigo Duterte has agreed to suspend "e-sabong" licenses amid the disappearance of the 31 "sabungeros," citing information from Dela Rosa.

This was confirmed by Dela Rosa but Malacañang said the public should wait for an announcement from Duterte himself.

At a Senate hearing last week, Sotto and Senator Panfilo Lacson proposed a resolution asking Duterte to direct PAGCOR to temporarily stop e-sabong operations.

To be covered are the existing e-sabong licenses of Belvedere Vista Corp., Lucky 8 Star Quest Inc., Visayas Cockers Club Inc., Jade Entertainment And Gaming Technologies, Inc., Newin Cockers Alliance Gaming Corp., Philippine Cockfighting International Inc. and  Golden Buzzer, Inc.

PAGCOR Acting Assistant Vice President for E-Sabong Department Diane Erica Jogno said the agency will heed the suspension of the licenses of the e-sabong.

At a press conference, Lacson raised a possible constitutional issue if lawmakers issued a legislative franchise to online cockfighting.

“Ang isang malaking issue, major issue, ang sinasabi ng ating konstitusyon ang puwede lang mag-apply ng legislative franchise, aside from the mass media, ay yung public utility,” Lacson said.

(One major issue in this suggestion is that the Constitution only allows legislative franchises for public utilities aside from the mass media.)

“Ang unang tanong ko nga doon, ang e-sabong ba isang public utility?” he added.

(My first question there is: “Is e-sabong a public utility?)

Lacson also mentioned that the PAGCOR had sent a position paper clarifying that e-sabong was not classified as a public utility.

In separate statements, Senators Risa Hontiveros and Francis Pangilinan said they supported the proposed Senate Resolution 996.

Hontiveros said the disappearance of the sabungeros, which allegedly involved game-fixing, the participation of armed men, the supposed lack of CCTV footage, and the circulation of fake photos, must be investigated.

“If there are criminal elements behind this, they must be brought to justice immediately,” she said.

For his part, Pangilinan emphasized that gambling brings social costs.

“They said that this is 'easy money' but anything that comes easy is not worth having. This should serve as a lesson for everyone na mag-ingat sa mga ganitong scheme,” he said in mixed English and Filipino.

Pangilinan then urged the investigators, specifically the Philippine National Police to maintain its focus in resolving these cases as there might be more cases of missing sabungeros.

“Huwag na nating antaying maging national crisis din itong usapin ng mga nawawala dahil sa sugal,” he said.

(Let us not wait for this to be a national crisis.)

—KBK, GMA News