Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. said on Tuesday that he finds it difficult to eradicate online sabong or cockfighting.
In an interview with DZRH’s Damdaming Bayan, Acorda explained that the PNP has constant monitoring with regard to e-sabong.
"'Yung ating anti-cybercrime group ay patuloy sa patrolling. May mga tumutulong din," he said.
Moreover, Acorda further stated that their office has been encountering concerns in enforcement because of the country’s laws, adding that one of the difficulties the PNP has had is prosecuting suspects in court.
"'Yung lack of betting [halimbawa], those are the difficulties," he explained.
According to Acorda, who cited PNP data, at least 41,000 people were arrested in 50,000 anti-gambling operations across the country from January to June.
"From January to June, sa illegal gambling lang, we were able to launch 50,000 operations. Mga 41,000 po ang arrested natin," he claimed.
"One of our policies is the one-strike policy. Kung may operation diyan ang national na hindi initiative ng local [police], talagang maaapektuhan ang local diyan," he further explained.
In collaboration with the National Telecommunications Commission and other relevant organizations, the ACG has increased its cyber-patrolling to take down e-sabong websites.
"With the help of NTC, 'yung ibang sites ay pinapa-take down natin," he mentioned.
Meanwhile, an unnamed security official previously stated that e-sabong operations have evolved to evade law enforcement operations.
According to the said official, e-sabong operators, also known as master agents, are no longer streaming their games to a larger audience but rather to groups of gamblers who are screened before being granted access to the websites.
Another issue, according to Acorda, is that those engaging in e-sabong are anonymous.
He claimed that people in charge of the fighting cocks wear masks.
Acorda had previously directed police units to step up operations against all forms of illegal gaming.
