Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman expressed reservations about the potential revival of e-sabong, or online cockfight betting, indicating that it wasn’t factored into the 2025 fiscal program.
During the Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum, Pangandaman noted that the economic team might discuss the issue in an upcoming meeting, but she emphasized that revenues from e-sabong were not included in next year’s budget assumptions. “E-sabong is not part of the [fiscal] assumptions in next year’s budget so… I don’t think it’s necessary for next year,” she stated, adding that she has yet to review the financial implications.
PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation) had previously suggested the possibility of reviving e-sabong under a stricter framework, citing that it generated P6.2 billion in revenues from April 2021 to April 2022. However, e-sabong operations were halted in May 2022 by then-President Rodrigo Duterte after the disappearance of several individuals linked to the industry. Duterte later apologized for allowing e-sabong, acknowledging its role in leading many bettors into debt and contributing to abductions.
Despite the ban, PAGCOR revealed that illegal online sabong operations have persisted. The issue of missing individuals involved in e-sabong remains unresolved, two years after their disappearance.