Central Visayas earned some distinction last week after reports surfaced in a Senate hearing that it was the only region in the country where e-sabong operations continued despite the nationwide ban.
It is not a distinction that would make you proud but a characteristic of how illegal gambling is able to continue because its operators here enjoy protection. Witnesses who appeared in the Senate hearing last week on the killing of governor Roel Degamo and other individuals in Negros Oriental pointed to suspended Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. (Negros Oriental, 3rd District) as the one behind e-sabong and the attacks on Degamo and others.
Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, chairman of the Senate committee on public order that is conducting the inquiry, said during the hearing that it is only in Central Visayas where this form of illegal gambling has continued. Fingers pointed to Teves as the reason for this.
Cebu was included in the probe after information was presented on the e-sabong raid conducted on Sept. 16, 2022, in Minglanilla, Cebu. National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 Director Rennan Augustus Oliva told senators Teves had threatened him and other officers for conducting the raid. “He and his entourage arrived at the NBI office and his opening statement was that he was not connected to the e-sabong activities and that he had already delegated that to his friends,” Oliva said during the hearing.
Teves reportedly told Oliva he would sue NBI operators “for stealing P7 million during the raid,” Oliva said. Oliva said he replied that he could not betray his oath as a law enforcer. Later, his team learned that they were charged with stealing P9 million during the raid.
Local officials of Central Visayas—Negros Oriental and Cebu in particular—should take these developments as unsettling and prod them to act toward making the government accountable for the spread of e-sabong. Why did they fail to stop e-sabong and who are the local operatives of the big boss behind it?
The e-sabong impacts the lives of mostly poor people and it is blamed for the rise in crimes where it operates. The order stopping e-sabong operations issued in May 2022 was aimed at putting an end to the ill effects of e-sabong in order to protect public morals and safety.
Illegal gambling makes a mockery of the law and targets consumers who belong to the vulnerable sector of the population. Those involved do not pay taxes and they pose as competition to legal operations supervised by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor).
This focus on the region is a chance for local officials to highlight what they can do in their own capacities to stop illegal gambling and to assure constituents they are serious about ending e-sabong. What action can Negros Oriental and Cebu officials take in response to these revelations before the Senate?