The e-sabong broadcast studio in Talisay City*
Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-led operatives raided an online cockfighting or ‘e-sabong’ facility in Barangay Concepcion, Talisay City, Negros Occidental, early Thursday, Local Government Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla said Friday, April 24.
Remulla, who held a press conference in Bago City, Negros Occidental, linked the operators of the e-sabong to the Chinese syndicate involved in the illegal manufacture of cigarettes in Negros.
They are also believed to be the cause of the rampant theft of fighting cocks on Negros Island, which they buy at ₱1,500 to ₱2,000 for their e-sabong operations, he said.
The operators of the Talisay e-sabong put up signs in foreign languages in their broadcast to make it appear like they are operating from other countries, like Vietnam and Thailand, Remulla said.
Their operations are believed to net about ₱5 million a day, he said.
E-sabong refers to the digital or online broadcast of live cockfighting matches, allowing participants to place bets remotely.
Talisay Mayor Rowena Lizares said the raided e-sabong facility, which has a studio for live broadcasts, is located in a remote area in Sitio Catamnan 2, Barangay Concepcion.
Concepcion is the center of Talisay’s breeding and selling of fighting cocks, she said.
Lizares said 30 individuals were arrested in the raid, of which only three were from Talisay and one was a minor. The rest were from other parts of the country, she said,
Lizares said about 280 fighting cocks were recovered in the bust.
Someone sent a text tip claiming that Atong Ang has e-sabong operations in Talisay, she said.
But Remulla said Ang’s name did not come up in the bust on Thursday.
The operation was conducted from 1 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Thursday under the CIDG’s “Oplan Bolilyo,” a police report said.
They apprehended the suspects for alleged violation of Presidential Decree 1602 (Illegal Gambling) in relation to Republic Act 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
During the raid, authorities confiscated numerous items believed to have been used in the illegal operation, including computers, laptops, routers, 26 cellular phones, multiple video cameras with tripods, three Starlink satellite receivers, 290 cockfighting gaffs, fighting cocks, and other paraphernalia associated with online betting and cockfighting broadcasts, a police report said.
The site functioned as a covert online cockfighting arena where live matches were streamed using cameras and digital devices for remote betting operations, it added.*
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