Senatorial candidate and former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Guillermo Eleazar has vowed to look into the various measures about online cockfighting should he get elected as a senator in the May 2022 elections.
Eleazar said it is important to further strengthen the capaibility of policemen, specifically on crime preventioin and investigative skills, in light of the issue of missing cockfight enthusiasts.
“Well, talagang dapat imbestigahan ‘yon. Alam mo ‘yon ang trabaho naman ng law enforcement, ‘yung investigation. Kaya nga para sa akin talagang dapat maisulong pa ‘yung pagpapalakas ng capability ng ating law enforcement agencies, lalo na ‘yung crime prevention as well as investigative skills nila. At ‘yon ang isa sa mga isusulong natin kung sakaling papalarin tayo (We really need to investigate that. That’s one of the mandate of law enforcement: investigation. That’s why for me, we need to pursue the strengthening of the capability of our law enforcement agencies, especially on crime prevention as well as their investigative skills. Those are the things we will pursue should we win),” Eleazar told reporters in an interview in Baguio City.
Eleazar accompanied Senators Panfilo Lacson and Vicente Sotto III in their campaign sortie in Baguio City over the weekend. It was also on Saturday when Lacson received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Alumni Homecoming. Lacson, who is running for president in the upcoming May 2022 elections, was also a former PNP chief prior to becoming a lawmaker.
In the same ceremony, Eleazar was also granted an Outstanding Achievement Award.
Should there be measures that seek legislative franchise or any bill that would support ‘e-sabong’, Eleazar said he will readily review the regulations on cockfighting since these activities are considered authorized and legal.
“Pero ‘yon nga, dapat andoon ‘yung ating mga regulation na nakatutok doon para pangalagaan ang kapakanan ‘nung mga iba’t ibang stakeholders, particular itong mga mismong nag-a-avail o mga customer and kliyente nitong e-sabong na ito (We need to look into the regulations and how we can look after the welfare of the different stakeholders, particularly those who avail or are customers and clients of online cockfighting),” he said.
“So dapat ma-review ‘yon at makita natin through consultation, malaman from the stakeholders anong mas makakaganda para sa kanila sa industry (So that should be reviewed and we can see that thorugh consultation; know from the stakeholders what is best for them in the industry),” Eleazar stressed.