Palace: No official communication yet on suspending e-sabong permits

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Tuesday clarified that it has not received any official document on the suspension of the pemits of online cockfights or e-sabong.

Acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles said a Senate resolution has to be sent to the Philippine Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), which will then advise the Office of the President on the matter.

"As of the moment, we do not have indication yet that there is such a Senate Resolution to that effect given to PAGCOR or even to the Office of the President," Nograles said at a press briefing.

"We do not have any word yet on that. These are all reports that we read in the newspapers. These are reports that we heard, but there is no official document that has been transmitted either to the Office of the President or to Malacañang or to PAGCOR or to whatever...there is no paper to show or point to anything," he added.

On Monday, Senate President Vicente Sotto III claimed President Rodrigo Duterte has agreed to suspend the operations of e-sabong in the wake of reports about the disappearance of at least 31 players of online cockfights. Sotto said the licenses of the e-sabong firms would be suspended by Friday.

He made the remark as the Senate is probing the disappearance of a number of e-sabong players, which is being linked to online cockfighting.

The PAGCOR has expressed willingness to suspend the permits of e-sabong companies but an order from the Office of the President is needed to do so.