No official order yet on e-sabong's end —Palace

President Rodrigo Duterte has yet to issue an official order stopping the operations of “e-sabong” or online cockfighting and betting, Malacañang said Wednesday.

“Sa ngayon wala pang official document na galing sa Malacañang Records Office,” acting presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar said at a virtual Palace briefing.

(As of now, there is no official document yet from Malacañang Records Office.)

Duterte, in a prerecorded Talk to the People aired Tuesday morning, announced that he approved the Department of the Interior and Local Government's (DILG) recommendation to stop e-sabong or online cockfighting operations. 

Duterte’s decision came following a survey conducted by the by DILG in cities and provinces regarding e-sabong operations, which is being blamed for the deterioration of moral values among many Filipinos.

Despite the absence of an official order or implementing rules and regulations (IRR) on stopping “e-sabong” operations, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año warned that those who will continue operating “e-sabong” may be arrested, saying that the President’s order has no sophistications or technicalities. 

As to the foregone government revenues from “e-sabong,” Andanar said, “As to the other sources of income, tiwala kami sa kakayahan ng PAGCOR (we trust the PAGCOR’s capabilities) to generate new revenues.”

Government revenue from e-sabong hit P2 billion this year alone, according to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR).

PAGCOR chairperson Andrea Domingo on Tuesday said the regulator “has to implement the President's decision to stop e-sabong operations immediately.”

“The Executive Secretary will issue a formal memorandum to this effect and we will serve the appropriate notice to the PAGCOR regulated e-sabong operators,” Domingo said.

“We will also inform the COA (Commission on Audit) Auditor officially that starting today, there will no longer be revenues collected from e-sabong operations,” she said. —KG, GMA News