By Myris Lee
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Thursday (April 7) said he will not hesitate to suspend e-sabong due to many Filipinos mortgaging and spending money for the game.
However, in his speech during the groundbreaking ceremony of the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) center, he emphasized the need to “sacrifice” because virtual cockfighting greatly contributes to the country’s funds.
“Ang problema ganito, I have heard that itong — kailangan sabihin ko ito eh…Itong mga ito nagpupusta lahat, nagsasangla na para magpusta. Iyon ang sabi ng tagalabas. Now if it is true, then hihintuin ko ‘yan. Masigurado ninyo before I go, I will stop it kung totoo. But I have to sacrifice, I said, the billions that we would have earned kung nandiyan ‘yan. “ he said
Duterte explained that he allowed e-sabong since the government is earning a great amount of money from virtual cockfighting.
“Pinayagan ko lang ‘yan — I have the ultimate word on it because it gives us P340 million a month. Kailangan ko ang pera for those expenses na wala sa budget, hindi mo makuha sa budget so you need money from the outside sources,” Duterte said
The Chief Executive shared that the government contingency and intelligence fund is exhausted due to the pandemic and the revenues generated from online betting is the solution he found to fill the budget deficiency.
“Ngayon, at the end of the year, if I have the billions at P640 million a month, ‘yun na ang maitulong ko kaagad. Iyong pandemic naubos ang contingency plan ko pati ‘yung intelligence fund, So saan ka maghanap ng P640 million? So I allowed it. Now it’s still working,” he said. – ngs
