The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) lauded the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for its contribution in stopping the e-sabong operations in the country when it ordered its bank-supervised financial institutions (BSFIs) not to deal with accounts connected to the illegal gambling.
Through BSP Memorandum Circular 2022-026 released on May 27, 2022, DILG Sec. Eduardo Año said it directed the BSFIs to only deal with gambling or online gaming businesses that are authorized by the government.
The BSP also directed BSFIs to inform their clients who still have remaining funds in their e-sabong accounts to transfer them back to their e-wallets within 30 days from the issuance of the memorandum, after which links to all e-sabong accounts and e-wallets, including e-sabong merchant operator accounts, will be disabled.
“This means that even if operators or bettors go underground, they cannot bet through Gcash and Paymaya anymore,” said Año.
“Sa tulong ng ating mga kapwa ahensiya ng pamahalaan, mawawakasan din natin ang mapinsalang e-sabong na nakasira na sa maraming pamilya sa ating bansa (With the help of our fellow agencies in government, the operation of the e-sabong which has adverse effects in the families in the country will end),’’ he added.
In a news briefing on May 2, President Duterte ordered a stop to all e-sabong operations following the DILG’s recommendation based on its nationwide survey that showed majority of the people do not wish e-sabong operations to continue.
The President cited e-sabong’s ‘deleterious social impact, including gambling addiction and the disappearance of several cockfighting enthusiasts.’
Año also called on Facebook (FB) to block several FB pages or accounts catering to illegal e-sabong operations, including those in its social media affiliates or subsidiaries.
“Malaking bagay ang ginawang direktiba ng BSP na ipatanggal ang e-sabong sa listahan ng mga maaaring bayaran sa e-wallets tulad ng G-Cash at PayMaya. Salamat, BSP, sa mabilis na aksyon at pagtugon sa utos ng Pangulo (The BSP’s directive removing e-sabong in the list that can be paid via the e-wallet like G-Cash and PayMaya has a tremendous effect. Thank you BSP for its swift action in heeding the President’s order),’’ Año said.
The DILG chief pointed out that Facebook will follow the lead in ending the e-sabong operations in the country by blocking its accounts or pages.
E-sabong on social media
DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya confirmed having communicated with Facebook requesting it to block several pages, groups and accounts that encourage people to play illegal e-sabong in all of its social media affiliates or subsidiaries
In his letter to Meta, Facebook’s parent organization, Malaya asked them to automatically ban from the Facebook platform and its affiliates and subsidiaries all Facebook pages, links and the like that operate or encourage people to do illegal e-sabong.
Malaya submitted to Meta Platforms, Inc. the list of seven FB pages, groups and accounts identified by the PNP anti-cyber crime group as catering to illegal e-sabong.
“We hope that Facebook will immediately suspend or block pages devoted to illegal sabong as fast as they suspend pages that allegedly violate their community standards. I presume that engaging in illegal activities is a violation of FB’s standards,” Malaya said.
“We look forward to a fruitful cooperation, coordination, and collaboration on this matter in order to fully implement the ban on illegal e-sabong,” the DILG spokesperson added. (Chito A. Chavez)