PRESIDENT RODRIGO Duterte on Tuesday said he is not surprised to find out that there are some police officers linked to the alleged abduction of “e-sabong” (online cockfighting) aficionados.
“I’m not surprised, I’m sure you are not also kasi…may mga krimen na hindi puwedeng mangyari pag walang participation ng police (because there are some crimes that cannot happen if there is no participation from the police),” he said in a prerecorded Talk to the People.
However, he said it would be “too early” to make further comments since an investigation against them is underway.
“I do not know if the police there were really involved. Masyadong maaga pa ‘yan (It’s too early to say)…that’s an evolving story now,” he added.
Although there are some smart alecks in the police force, Duterte said “by and large, we have a good police [force] in our country.”
He urged the Philippine National Police (PNP) to file the appropriate charges against suspects in the e-sabong (online cockfighting) abductions.
To date, the three policemen sacked from their posts have been placed under restrictive custody after they were linked to e-sabong abductions.
PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said these cops are now under restrictive custody at the headquarters of the Police Regional Office (PRO)-4A (Calabarzon) and are set to face charges in the coming days.
Meanwhile, Duterte justified anew his decision to allow the continued operations of e-sabong anew, saying they were “legal.”
“You know, when we allow a gambling, we -- it’s legal so pag-ano eh, tanungin mo ano ang nagawa ng e-sabong diyan kung magpatayan (so what can we do about e-sabong if they start killing each other)? Whether you like it or not you -- sa casino puwede niyong gawain (it can be done in casinos),” he said.
He said crimes related to e-sabong would be a “good study of crime and punishment.”
The government, he said, also earned millions from the e-sabong industry which has only been operating for about two years.
“Hindi ko ho hininto kasi kailangan ng pera sa e-sabong ng gobyerno. I’ll make it public now, it’s PHP640 million a month. And in a year’s time, it’s billion plus. Saan tayo maghanap ng pera ng ganoon na kadali na siguro (I didn't stop the operations because the government needed money from e-sabong. I’ll make it public now, it’s PHP640 million a month. And in a year’s time, it’s a billion plus. Where do we find money that easily maybe)?” he added.
Meanwhile, he congratulated PNP chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos for heading an organization that is tough to discipline.
“I congratulate you for the handling of an organization that's so huge that I said you cannot discipline everybody. You cannot answer for all the things that they do because simply the organization is just too big for you to handle,” he said.
He also asked Carlos to tell him what the PNP needs so he could address them before he steps down from the office.
Duterte earlier urged Congress to regulate e-sabong operations by issuing legislative franchises, noting this would allow more “transparency” in monitoring their activities.
Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa said senators are looking into transferring the authority to issue permits for e-sabong from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation to Congress. (Azer Parrocha)
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