The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Thursday, Feb. 12, vowed to further intensify it drive against the resurgence of illegal online cockfighting, or e-sabong, operations in the country.
PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr.. said he has tasked police commanders down to the city and municipal levels to provide assistance to the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) in monitoring and intelligence-gathering to pinpoint the sources of the live feeds in their respective areas of responsibility.
“We in the Philippine National Police remain focused in the campaign to stop all forms of illegal gambling. In the case of online gambling, there are difficulties that are faced along the way, especially with the evolving nature of cybercrimes,” Nartatez said.
“But we continue to take all these difficulties as a challenge to further improve and come up with new measures to address the problem,” he stressed.
The e-sabong was already banned, but the PNP continues to monitor its guerrilla operations online. Several online sites were already taken down as part of the anti-gambling efforts.
Nartatez also said the PNP-ACG and the Intelligence Group (IG) have been working together in tracking and shutting down illegal e-sabong operations to rid the country of all forms of illegal gambling.
They are specifically instructed to trace livestreams, identify operators using sophisticated networks of VPNs and offshore hosting, and gather actionable intelligence to support coordinated cyber and ground raids.
“It may look like a simple livestream to the public but behind those links is a sophisticated network of VPNs and offshore hosting. If ordinary citizens see the livestream, there is no reason why our trackers cannot trace it,” Nartatez noted.
Aside from taking down sites being used for e-sabong, Nartatez said they are also focused on identifying the financiers and operators of the online illegal gambling platforms.
He also urged the public, particularly the netizens, to assist in the campaign by providing information on the matter, even as he warned all PNP personnel not to be involved in this kind of illegal activity in any way.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “PNP vows to enhance measures vs. resurgence of e-sabong”
