E-sabong is back? No, says Pagcor

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MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) on Wednesday assured senators that operations of e-sabong have not returned.

During a hearing conducted by the Senate ways and means committee on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (Pogo, Senator Bato Dela Rosa asked Pagcor if the operations of e-sabong have returned.

To which, a representative of the government-owned gaming firm replied: “Wala po (no, it hasn’t).”

“So ang nag-operate ngayon guerilla ‘yan? Illegal? Bantayan ninyo para hindi tayo masira sa taong bayan,” dela Rosa then said.

(So the ones operating now are guerilla? Illegal? Monitor them so that we don’t lose the trust of the people.)

Dela Rosa, however, did not give further details on the reported illegal operations of e-sabong, but Pagcor guaranteed that it is regularly monitoring it.

“Hindi pa nga natin nakita ‘yung 34 na missing, baka madagdagdagan ‘yan (We haven’t even seen any of the 34 missing, maybe that will go higher),” Dela Rosa said.

READ: Still no word on 34 missing in ‘e-sabong’ abductions

In May, weeks before stepping down from office, then-President Rodrigo Duterte ordered an end to e-sabong operations, citing its social cost to Filipinos.

The termination of e-sabong operations was also continued by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration.

Dela Rosa mentioned e-sabong as the Senate committee discussed the social ills attributed with Pogos, as lawmakers decide whether the gambling scheme should be discontinued following a string of kidnapping and forced abduction related to it.

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KGA