SEN. Joel Villanueva rejected the proposal to revive online cockfighting or “e-sabong” to make up for lost revenues from the banning of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in his third State of the Nation Address last July 22 ordered the banning of POGO operations.
“We have just defeated an enemy with the POGO ban. And now some are considering resurrecting e-sabong, which is far worse because it directly targets our kababayan (countrymen) from all walks of life,” Villanueva said.
Some members of the House of Representatives brought up the idea of reviving e-sabong to cover lost revenues from the POGO ban.
The e-sabong was banned in May 2022 following the disappearance of 30 cockfighting aficionados. They have not been found until now.
“While we badly need revenues, the choice should not be between the devil and the deep blue sea. We want our revenues from legitimate, legal and sustainable sources,” Villanueva said.
Villanueva earlier filed Senate Bill 1281, which seeks to prohibit all forms of online gambling in the country.
“No matter how you look at it, the social costs of gambling overshadow the intended benefits,” he said.
Even during the height of their operations, he said POGOs did not prove to be a viable solution to the government’s revenue needs, as collections accounted for only a small portion of taxes.
He said prior to the e-sabong ban in May 2022, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) reminded operators to pay their tax obligations after a Senate inquiry found them earning billions online.
The BIR and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) also failed to withhold the 20-percent tax from the winnings of online sabong operators since virtual cockfighting began in 2020, he said.
In a Senate hearing in February 2024, Pagcor admitted that e-sabong continues despite the prohibition. It was also found during the hearing that 789 e-sabong operations are active, defying the ban.
Villanueva called on law enforcement agencies, including the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, to apply the same rigorous measures against e-sabong as they have with POGOs to prevent its resurgence.
“Similar to POGOs, e-sabong has brought social costs — worse, it destroys Filipino families, plunges individuals into severe debt, and even forces some to commit theft and crimes to fund their gambling habits,” he said. “Money should not be our only consideration; the welfare of our people must come first.”
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