Senatorial candidate and lawmaker Alan Peter Cayetano said he suspects a syndicate could be working behind the scenes of online cockfighting firms amid recent deaths that are linked to the industry.
Cayetano told DZRH that it was suspicious that people who participated in the industry were facing massive debts when they are not likely to afford such huge amounts.
"Papano sila nagkakaroon ng daan-daang libo o milyon? Dapat kung magkano lang ang laman ng e-wallet mo, kumbaga sa Gcash, kung magkano lang ang nai-load mo, 'yun lang dapat pwede mong ipusta," he said.
(How did they have hundreds of thousands or millions? They should only be allowed to bet on the money that they have on their e-wallets, just link in Gcash, where it depends on how much load you have.)
"Mukhang may sindikato na rin diyan kasi nga nababalitaan natin na daan-daang libo 'yung utang tapos nababalitaan natin na mga armado yung mg nagha-haraass sa kanilang magbayad," he added.
(It looks like there is already a syndicate in there because we hear reports of people having hundreds of thousands of debts and they are being harassed by armed men to pay for it.)
The lawmaker referred to recent reported cases on e-sabong participants, where some were murdered, killed themselves, or went into hiding because of alleged massive debts linked to the online cockfighting industry.
Cayetano then called on the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to do something about the situation.
"I hope medyo gumising-gising nang konti ang ating mga namamahala dito lalo sa PAGCOR. It's not all about the money, ang pera masasauli mo, pero ang buhay ng tao hindi mo na masasauli 'yan," he said.
(I hope PAGCOR officials wake up. It’s not all about the money. You can return the money, but you cannot return the life of another person.)
Cayetano is one of the vocal opposition against the recent move of Congress to grant a 25-year franchise to e-sabong firms, stressing that there are more important legislations to pass amid the pandemic.
