By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan
MANILA – Police discovered an alleged online cockfighting (e-sabong) den in Tondo, Manila and arrested 172 individuals engaged in the illegal activity.
In a press briefing in Camp Crame Wednesday, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group – National Capital Region (CIDG-NCR) chief Col. John Guiagui said bettors, management personnel, gaffers and bet takers were apprehended in Tuesday night’s operation at the Vitas Coliseum, which also resulted in the seizure of 45 sets of computers, three tripod cameras and fighting cocks.
“There are 172 individuals, of which 132 are bettors, so those are the ones we took their personal circumstances and released last night to the immediate families and the barangay. All we left there is the management, the one running the cockpit, the tellers, cameramen, sentinels, the gaffers and then a lot of chickens that are hanging there,” he told reporters.
“The information that reached us is late last year, it already exists,” he added.
The suspects are set to face charges for violation of Presidential Decree 1602 (Illegal Gambling) in relation to Republic Act 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012).
Guiagui said the e-sabong den operated non-stop with each fight lasting two to three minutes each.
“The online sabong operations last 24 hours a day even without bettors physically present. There are at least 500 fights a day, imagine that it is more than 2 minutes, you will immediately release the chicken. Traditional cockfighting will take 30 minutes at least, right? If that is the case, there will still be eliminations because there will be champions. The cockfighting goes straight to the point even though there is no one, they still fight 24 hours,” he explained.
Guiagui said they also looking into the concerned barangay’s failure to detect the illegal activity within their area of jurisdiction.
“We will look into it if there is one and then the GAB (Games and Amusement Board) if they will look into the licenses or pertinent documents to operate it if disciplinary measures are needed, do they need to stop it that’s why we are coordinating with the GAB and our legal team on how we deal with this because imagine 500 fights in a day,” he noted.
He said bettors post their bets on a link called “Sabong VIP,” ranging anywhere from PHP100 to PHP1,000 each.
Despite overwhelming evidence, the management staff still denied online sabong operations until CIDG operatives showed videos as proof.
Each cockfight yields at least PHP300,000 in bets.
“The very nature of the cockfight is already questionable. That’s why we arrested the management staff because it’s impossible that they do not know about this,” Guiagui said.
Guiagui said that they are also looking into the possibility of an influential person behind the e-sabong operations.
“We are looking into that. We are not ruling out the possibility that is why our director said he is investigating deeper to see who the protectors are, who the people are behind the online sabong,” he said.
Guiagui said they also intend to tap the Anti-Money Laundering Council to know if properties acquired from e-sabong can be sequestered by the government.
Executive Order 9, signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in December 2022, mandates the continued suspension of e-sabong operations nationwide.
Sale of stolen racing pigeons busted
Meanwhile, Guiagui said CIDG operatives arrested on March 19 two suspects involved in the sale of stolen racing pigeons worth PHP2.1 million in Batangas.
The operation stemmed from a complainant’s claim that two of his racing pigeons were officially entered and released in Gumaca, Quezon for competition on March 1 and are expected to return to their home lofts in Parañaque City on the same day.
However, the two pigeons failed to return to their home lofts because during their flight, they were intercepted and caught by “lambateros” (people who use nets to catch racing pigeons) somewhere in Mindoro.
On March 8, the two pigeons were offered for sale through Facebook for PHP25,000 each, prompting the complainant to seek police assistance which led to law enforcement operations in Taal, Batangas where the pigeons are located and displayed for sale.
Guiagui said the suspects, “Elmer and Steve,” were caught in the act of selling the pigeons bearing ring bands registered under the name of the complainant.
During the operation, authorities recovered a total of 43 racing pigeons bearing respective Philippine Homing Pigeon Association leg band numbers.
The suspects will face charges for violation of Presidential Degree No. 1612 (Anti-Fencing Law) in relation to Republic Act 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012), after failing to present proof of ownership of the pigeons. (PNA)
