Senators not rushing franchise of controversial e-sabong magnate Atong Ang (Sabong News)
Author
Butch Fernandez
Date
MARCH 05 2022
GAMING capitalist Charlie “Atong” Ang is not likely to quickly get a legislative franchise for his Lucky 8 Star Quest “e-sabong” empire until the mysterious disappearance of 34 “sabungeros” [cockfight aficionados and workers] is solved, the chairperson of the franchise-endorsing Senate committee said on Friday.
The signal was conveyed by Senator Grace Poe, head of the Committee on Public Services, as she affirmed the sense of majority of senators – conveyed in an earlier resolution sent to the Office of the President and the state gaming agency – that the separate cases of abductions the past few months must first be resolved satisfactorily before the requested franchise of Ang’s Lucky 8 Star Quest could be considered.
The senators’ resolution, spurred by Senate President Vicente Sotto III, had urged the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) to suspend operations of all seven outfits it had licensed for e-sabong, including Ang’s Lucky 8 Star Quest.
Ang was summoned by the Senate probers under the Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs because, besides being the biggest player accounting for 90-percent share of e-sabong gross proceeds, four of the six cockpits and facilities linked to the abductions are associated with him.
On questioning by Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, Ang estimated his outfit was grossing P3 billion a month from e-sabong, but after commissions are paid to agents and expenses deducted, he is on average left with some P600 million.
Pagcor chief Andrea Domingo, meanwhile, said the state gaming agency was earning some P690 million in revenue monthly from e-sabong.
Poe stressed that as chair of the franchise reviewing panel, it is her responsibility to verify that franchise applicants have no liabilities.
She added that her fellow senators shared her serious concern over the fact that four of the six abduction incidents happened in areas owned by Lucky 8 Star Quest.
At the Senate hearing chaired by Public Order committee chairman Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Poe said that the disappearance of the 34 individuals depicts not just the social cost of gambling but also “the reality of the e-sabong” industry.
For instance, the senator cited the lack of Pagcor’s regulatory framework covering the e-sabong betting.
Senate probers also learned from police officers at the hearing that CCTVs are either absent or not enough in the cockpit arena, and oversight of their operations is inadequate after licenses are granted by Pagcor and business permits, by the local government hosting the venue.
In one instance, the head of Lipa City’s Business Permits and Licensing Office told senators their inspection teams, when they visited Royal Octadome facilities after issuing the provisional permit, had been denied entry by the firm’s security guards. This prompted Senator Dela Rosa to prod her to cancel the business permit.
At the Senate hearing, Ang strongly denied his firm had anything to do with the disappearance of the 34 people, claiming this was part of a conspiracy against him, as his company’s franchise application bill was already endorsed for the Senate’s plenary approval.
In the first e-sabong hearing on February 24, Senator Dela Rosa told Ang’s lawyer that the viral video that the missing victim’s families had asked senators to play, indeed sounded like a “reminder and/or threat” against fraudsters in the e-sabong industry, which Ang said needed to be cleaned up to preserve the integrity of the business.
He said he had caused the filing of charges against suspected hackers of legitimate e-sabong sites, among others, to show he follows due process in dealing with game fixers and other criminals riding on the trade.
