Senate sets probe into reported disappearance of 29 ‘sabongeros’ (Sabong News)

The chairman of the Senate Public Order Committee on Thursday bared plans to lead a separate inquiry into the reported disappearance of nearly 30 “sabongeros,” cockfight aficionados, in Southern Luzon, a case that has drawn attention to the dire impacts of both sabong and e-sabong, the electronic cockfight cum betting platform said to have plunged many into debt and spawned crime. Senator Ronald “ Bato” dela Rosa vowed to push for the Senate inquiry if the investigation into the case of the 30 sabongeros is not resolved soon. Later on Thursday, however, dela Rosa  said he had decided to go ahead and call hearings by the Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs because of the urgency of the matter. He has not set a date for the first hearing and will announce this next week. Dela Rosa explained that even if no resolution has been filed in the Senate directing his panel to investigate, the panel’s oversight function over some government agencies justifies his initiative. Various law enforcement agencies have stepped into the case after families of the missing went to authorities and barraged media with their appeals. One theory holds that the victims were made to “disappear” as part of the fallout from a rising tide of scams in both the physical cockfights and their e-gambling counterpart, e-sabong. Dela Rosa’s revelation of plans to seek a separate Senate probe followed a call by Sen.  Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel to require all e-sabong entities to obtain congressional franchises, instead of just licenses to operate from state gaming agency Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor). Pimentel made the call amid concerns that unbridled, unregulated gambling, both in the physical and virtual cockfight operations, was behind the rash of not just indebtedness but also violence. The PNP cited earlier reports 29 sabongeros disappeared in separate suspected abductions after coming from a cockfight in Southern Luzon. Several victims’ families reported a similar modus, i.e., men in all black attire, including black masks, seized their relatives and dragged them into a van. Earlier in late January, the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) reported it is investigating the case of 10 men who disappeared shortly after being seen in separate cockfighting areas in Laguna and Manila last January 13. Media reported that the number of the missing has since risen to 29. “The CIDG is now connecting the dots. These incidents do have a lot in common. We will find out if there is a syndicate behind these cases,” said PNP chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos, in a news statement issued on Friday, January 28. The first incident involved four male friends who were reported missing after joining a cockfighting match in Sta. Cruz, Laguna. Closed-circuit television camera footage from the arena showed that the vehicle used by the victims was seen exiting the coliseum but it was not clear if the victims were inside the vehicle. On the same day, another six men went missing after participating in a cockfighting tournament in Manila. Earlier, another 10 men from Bulacan who attended a cockfighting match were added to the list of missing individuals. These men, according to their relatives, have been missing for more than eight months. The CIDG is now appealing to the owners or the management of the cockfighting arenas to cooperate in the investigation to identify the possible handlers or financiers of the missing men. With PNA Image credits: