Contrary to the claims of Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, President Duterte did not give any go-signal to put a stop to the operations of online cockfight or “e-sabong” amid the investigation into the reported missing 31 cockfight enthusiasts.
Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) chairperson Andrea Domingo disclosed the matter during the continuation of the Senate Public Order and Dangerous Drugs’ investigation into the controversy, citing Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea whom she said clarified to her that the President did not say he agrees with the suspension of “e-sabong.”
“Tinanong ko po sa Executive Secretary ‘Sir, pumayag po ba talaga ang President na i-suspend ang operations according to the news reports?’ (I asked the Executive Secretary sir, did the President indeed agreed to suspend the operations according to the news reports)?”
“Ang sabi po ni Executive Secretary, ‘Tinanong ko si presidente diyan, Andrea, sabi niya wala siyang sinasabing ganon’ (The Executive Secretary said, ‘I asked the president about it, Andrea, and he said, he did not say anything like that),” Domingo narrated.
An exasperated Dela Rosa, in response, questioned Domingo: “So ako ngayon ang sinunggaling? Ako ang kausap ni Presidente, sinabihan ako niya ng ‘sige, sige, sige’ (So I’m the one lying now? I was the one the President talked to, and he told me okay’).”
Asked why they refuse to honor the Senate resolution asking the PAGCOR to immediately suspend the operations of all online cockfighting operations while the probe is ongoing, Domingo argued that the state regulatory agency might be held liable later it if is done without legal basis.
“Although we do respect the resolution from 24 senators for us to suspend immediately e-sabong operations, we stand at the peril of having to pay P640-million while we suspend (the operations) without clear and legal basis,” Domingo pointed out.
“We have to look into the repercussions. In the final analysis, it would be PAGCOR who would be responsible for the final decision,” she added.
Domingo also said that as part of the executive branch of government, they are duty bound to respect and “follow the chain of command.”
“This is not an easy thing to do because it has a very strong effect on the revenue generation that we are doing and also on the regulation of e-sabong itself,” she stressed.
“We would like to inform this honorable body that we did not go to ‘e-sabong’ without careful and completed staff work with which we are also required to perform under a mandate from the Office of the President,” she said.
“This is the reason why we sought different kinds of opinions from both the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), if in fact, PAGCOR has the authority to regulate e-sabong,” she pointed out, adding that when they later got the approval of the DOJ, they deemed it necessary to seek the President if they have the authority to regulate online cockfighting.
“And this has been in discussions in 2018, and in 2020 during the pandemic. The President received a lot of reports on a lot of money being generated by ‘e-sabong’ without regulation and therefore, without benefit to the government and to the public,” she also said, adding that revenues from "e-sabong" totaled P640-million per month since January this year.
And as far as the PAGCOR is concerned, they see no violations committed on the part of the online cockfighting operators based on their agreement.
Domingo also said that should they suspend the operations of legal online cockfighting operations they would be held accountable by the Commission on Audit (COA) and the courts.
But Dela Rosa interjected saying PAGCOR has the authority to regulate “e-sabong.”
“You regulate 'e-sabong' and we have a problem with 'e-sabong', so we are expecting that you do your job,” Dela Rosa said.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon agreed with Dela Rosa reminding Domingo that the authority of the gaming body to issue licenses to gambling operators includes the power to revoke and suspend licenses without needing the permission of the Office of the President.
“My proposition and my belief... since you issued the license without seeking a specific authority from Malacañang, that inherent power to grant the license is the power to suspend without needing the clearance from Malacañang,” Drilon stated.
“That is why I find legally no basis for the position of the chair of PAGCOR that they need the license of Malacañang to suspend PAGCOR when in fact they issued the license without Malacañang’s authority,” the minority leader pointed out.
Senator Grace Poe, who chairs the Senate Committee on Public Services, agreed with the observation of the other senators, saying it is well within the mandate of PAGCOR to temporarily suspend the licenses of “e-sabong” operators.
“There is nothing in PAGCOR's charter requiring them to seek authorization from the President for any action to proceed,” Poe said, citing Presidential Decree No. 1869, as amended by Republic Act No. 9487.
Poe also recalled that as former chairperson of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), they did not wait for presidential approval for sanctions on violations.
“Suspending the e-sabong licenses is pursuant to its mandate of minimizing, if not eradicating, the evils, malpractices and corruptions associated in gambling,” Poe said.
“I believe PAGCOR is using the President as an excuse to delay that decision,” she added.