The Philippine National Police (PNP) vowed on Thursday, Feb. 12, to further strengthen its campaign against online cockfighting, popularly known as e-sabong, following reports of the illegal activity’s resurgence.
PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez, Jr. emphasized that while police units—particularly the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG)—have been actively dismantling online platforms hosting e-sabong, the evolving nature of cybercrimes continues to pose significant challenges to enforcement efforts.
“We in the Philippine National Police remain focused in the campaign to stop all forms of illegal gambling. In the case of online sabong, there are difficulties that are faced along the way, especially with the evolving nature of cybercrimes,” said Nartatez.
“But we continue to take all these difficulties as a challenge to further improve and come up with new measures to address the problem,” he added.
Senators earlier raised concerns over the resurgence of online sabong. Sen. Raffy Tulfo for instance showed during a Senate hearing a live streaming of e-sabong.
The e-sabong was already banned but the PNP continues to monitor its guerrilla operations online.
Several online sites were already taken down as part of the anti-gambling efforts.
He said the ACG and the Intelligence Group (IG) have been working together in tracking and shutting down illegal e-sabong operations to rid the country of all forms of illegal gambling.
They are specifically instructed to trace livestreams, identify operators using sophisticated networks of VPNs and offshore hosting, and gather actionable intelligence to support coordinated cyber and ground raids. (Aaron Recuenco)
