PH22 E-Sabong Suspension: The Order, the Dates and the Law Today

Online e-sabong was suspended nationwide in 2022. President Duterte’s spoken order of 3 May 2022, given in a taped broadcast, stopped the operators. Executive Order No. 9, issued on 28 December 2022 under President Marcos, then formally kept e-sabong operations suspended nationwide.

You can read that text yourself, and this page walks through it. For the venue rules that stayed in force, see the cockpit arena law for licensed cockfights.

E-sabong suspension timeline

Four dates frame the law around e-sabong. Each one is a date of a law or an order, taken from the texts themselves.

The 3 May 2022 order was spoken, not written, which is why the written record starts in December. Mixing the two up is the most common error on pages about this subject.

What Executive Order No. 9 orders in its own words

Executive Order No. 9 is titled “Directing the Continued Suspension of Electronic Sabong Operations Nationwide”. Its operative sections are short, and the first two carry the substance.

1. Section 1. “All E-Sabong operations, including all auxiliary E-Sabong operations, shall continue to be suspended nationwide.” It names live-streaming or broadcasting of live cockfights outside cockpits and online or remote wagering.
2. Section 2. PAGCOR coordinates with local government units, other government agencies and private entities on implementation, and the DILG and the PNP assist and act against violators.
3. Section 3. Regular implementation reports are required.
4. Sections 4 to 6. Separability, repeal of inconsistent orders and immediate effect.

The order’s recitals cite PD 449, the Local Government Code and the earlier suspension of 3 May 2022. Section 1 also excludes traditional licensed cockfights, which is the exception that matters most.

Is online sabong legal in the Philippines?

No. Online sabong is not legal in the Philippines because Section 1 of Executive Order No. 9 keeps all e-sabong operations suspended nationwide. The word “continue” in the order matters: it confirms that the suspension that began on 3 May 2022 never lifted.

Is e sabong legal if a site says it is licensed?

No wording on a website changes the order. Section 2 gives PAGCOR, the DILG and the PNP the task of acting against violators, so a licence claim from a site is a reason to check, not to trust.

Sabong ban or suspension: what the word means

People say sabong ban, but the order’s own word is suspension. The difference tells you what was stopped and what was left alone.

The ban people describe is a ban on the remote and online layer, not on the sport. The cockpit itself keeps its licence under PD 449.

What stayed lawful after the suspension

Cockfighting in a licensed cockpit continues under PD 449 and local ordinances. Section 5(d) still allows it on Sundays, legal holidays and local fiestas for not more than three days.

Three things carry on unchanged:

1. Licensed cockpits operate under PD 449 and local ordinances.
2. Licensed gaffers, referees and bet takers keep their annual licences.
3. Fiesta cards run inside the three-day limit.

That means the people who run the pit keep their roles, and who a sabungero is lists them. The festive format is still lawful too, and the pintakasi fiesta format shows how it runs inside the three-day limit.