Concern grows in Philippines over disappearances related to online cockfighting

Philippine authorities have expressed concern over a growing number of disappearances allegedly linked to online cockfighting, known locally as e-sabong.

Around 30 people are said to have gone missing since January, prompting Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra to last week order the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to fully investigate a series of cases. According to the Philippine News Agency, those cases include the disappearance of 10 men shortly after being seen in cockfighting arenas in Laguna and Manila on 13 January, another six men after participating in a cockfighting tournament in Manila on the same day and 10 men from Bulacan who have been missing since attended a cockfighting match in mid-2021.

On Monday, Philippine National Police chief Dionardo Carlos issued a statement of his own ordering an investigation into the killing of three more people in San Carlos City over the weekend. The victims were on their way to a cockfighting derby when they were ambushed.

Source: https://www.asgam.com/index.php/2022/02/22/concern-grows-in-philippines-over-disappearances-related-to-online-cockfighting/