Taguig 2nd District Rep. Lani Cayetano on Friday urged fellow government officials and the public to discuss the emerging problem of online cockfighting (e-sabong), citing its negative effects such as students losing focus in school and families falling into debt.
“Now that we are celebrating National Children’s Month, it is good to talk about these things and find solutions,” Rep. Cayetano said in Bicolano in a media interview on November 26, 2021.
“We are also challenging our public officials, whether national or local, to be clear with your stand on e-sabong and on preventing other similar activities,” she added.
Rep. Cayetano said e-sabong poses a challenge to parents and teachers, especially since it has become accessible to the youth.
“Majority of the victims lose their focus in school because unlike before when parents only had to deal with computer games, students also now have access to e-sabong. They can immediately access these because even minors can bet on online cockfighting,” she said.
Her husband, former House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, had earlier called e-sabong and other forms of online gambling “a new pandemic” that the government does not seem to want to stop.
“When you make gaming and gambling available on the internet and you allow e-wallets, is the government now preventing an evil or is the government the one pushing for it?” he said.
In her radio interview, Rep. Cayetano urged parents to talk to their children and explain the possible detrimental effects of e-sabong.
“It is hard to raise children nowadays, which is why I hope parents will be able to warn their children and guide them. It is important to explain the dangers of online gambling and its effects on their focus in school. It might also destroy their future,” she said.
The National Children’s Month is celebrated by the country by virtue of Republic Act No. 10661, titled “An Act Declaring the Month of November of Every Year as the National Children’s Month.”
The law mandates the Department of Education to facilitate and encourage the commemoration of this month in all schools, public and private, nationwide.
