ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Visayas devider Negros Occidental prov'l board member to be probed for link to e-sabong

Negros Occidental prov'l board member to be probed for link to e-sabong

Published Jul 9, 2026 01:38 pm
FIGHTING cocks in an illegal e-sabong operation discovered in Barangay Alicante, E.B. Magalona, Negros Occidental on Wednesday night, July 8. (PRO-NIR)
FIGHTING cocks in an illegal e-sabong operation discovered in Barangay Alicante, E.B. Magalona, Negros Occidental on Wednesday night, July 8. (PRO-NIR)
BACOLOD CITY – Negros Occidental third district board member Andrew Montelibano will face investigation after he was reportedly found in the vicinity of an alleged multi-million e-sabong operation in Punong Pilar, Barangay Alicante, E.B. Magalona, Negros Occidental on Wednesday night, July 8.
In a press briefing on Thursday, July 9, Police Brig. Gen. Romano Cardiño, director of Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR), said that a supposed service of an arrest warrant to a regional most wanted person uncovered the alleged e-sabong operation.
“What began as a manhunt operation resulted in the discovery of another illegal activity that undermines peace and order in our communities,” he added.
He said they will invite Montelibano to shed light on the matter while authorities are validating the ownership of the property reportedly linked to him and his alleged participation. “He is a person of interest,” Cardiño said.
Cardiño disclosed that investigators are pursuing additional leads to determine the possible involvement of other persons in connection with the alleged illegal online sabong operation. “As of now no other politicians were involved,” he said.
He assured that there will be no whitewash and that all evidence gathered will be validated and necessary charges will be filed against anyone involved. If the venue was rented, it has to be proven, Cardiño said.
Cardiño said they will also verify the property ownership with the Municipal Assessor’s Office.
These matters remain part of the ongoing investigation and any appropriate charges or legal action will be determined based on the evidence gathered and in accordance with due process of law, he said.
Authorities are continuing efforts to locate Ronel, wanted for murder and frustrated murder cases and was reportedly hiding inside the farm. He was the subject of the original manhunt operation.
Arrested during the operation were JG, 40; FD, 38; RL, 36; and EC, 29, who were caught engaging in illegal online sabong betting and failed to present any authority or legal documents authorizing them to conduct or facilitate online sabong gambling activities.
Recovered during the operation were 142 live fighting cocks, 106 dead fighting cocks, 156 gaffs, two camera stands, and two television monitors, all believed to have been used in the conduct of the illegal online gambling operation.
Investigation said the operations may have been existing for years.
The area was very remote and police were clueless about the operation, Cardiño said. Cardiño said this will be subject to investigation to determine why.
Charges for violating Presidential Decree No. 1602, as amended by Republic Act No. 9287 (illegal gambling), in relation to Republic Act No. 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012), are being prepared against the suspects, who are now under the custody of the E.B. Magalona Municipal Police Station.
Cardiño lauded the operating units for the successful operation and said that PRO-NIR will continue to intensify their anti-illegal gambling operations and intelligence-driven operations and ensured that violators will be held accountable.
Montelibano has yet to release a statement and the municipal government of E.B. Magalona said they are letting competent authorities handle the matter.

Related Tags

E-sabong Negros Occidental Andrew Montelibano E.B. Magalona
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ static_articles_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.