THE number of arrested illegal gamblers in Davao City increased this year compared to last year, the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) reported.
Based on the comparative data, DCPO apprehended a total of 865 individuals from January to March this year, compared to 357 from the same period in 2020.
Out of the current apprehensions, the city police already filed cases to 268, compared to last year's 137.
The total amount of confiscated pieces of evidence this year reached up to P98,233, compared to P39,999 last year in the same period.
Among those who were arrested are those engaged in online sabong (cockfighting).
DCPO spokesperson Captain Rose Aguilar said they also arrested 53 persons engaged in online sabong from October 11, 2020 to March 8, 2021, with confiscated pieces of evidence reaching more than P6,000.
"Kung titingnan ninyo ang figures, hindi po nag-relax, despite sa tasking na isinagawa sa pandemic, patuloy pa rin ang police operation na ginagawa ng inyong kapulisan sa lahat ng police station doon sa lahat ng (If you look at the figures, you can see that we were not relaxing in our enforcement, despite our different tasks related to the pandemic. Our police in different stations continuously conduct police operations against) violators, especially sa (in) illegal gambling," Aguilar said in a press conference on Wednesday, April 14.
Recently, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said that she is planning to allow online sabong in a bid to generate additional revenue for the city despite her firm decision in banning sabong.
Duterte-Carpio said the city is looking for other means of tax revenue after it decided to reduce local fees and charges in favor of the local businesses, which are going through hard times due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang, committee chairperson of the games and amusement, revealed last week in a radio interview their plan of allowing online sabong in the city through an ordinance.
Aguilar said online sabong remains illegal and that they are still awaiting the 19th City Council to enact the proposed ordinance legalizing the operation of online sabong in the city.
"Ang (The) Davao City Police naman ay (is) implementing law enforcement, so we will wait for the approval," the DCPO official said.
She added that they believe that the City Council will study and deliberate the matter and will implement the provisions of the ordinance once enacted by the city government.
Several persons involved in illegal cockfighting have been apprehended and charged in violation of Presidential Decree (PD) 449 as amended by PD 1602 and Republic Act 11332 in relation to Section 4, of Executive Order 47-A of City Government of Davao.