CORN farmers from Echague, Isabela have been struggling with income loss due to the continued suspension of online cockfighting or eSabong operations in the country.
Farmer Jay-ar Dagman said his animal feeds business had experienced drastic income cuts due to the eSabong ban.
“This is very hard for us especially since we have to buy fertilizers to grow our corn. The demand for animal feeds has gone down due to the suspension of eSabong. We practically do now have any customers right now,” Dagman said in Filipino in an interview.
He likewise lamented that with the low demand, prices of animal feeds are also expected to drop.
Dagman is just one of the many corn farmers in Isabela who have been affected by the eSabong ban, which former president Rodrigo Duterte imposed in May 2022.
At its peak, the eSabong industry reportedly generated P650 million per month in revenues for the state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation. At least P1.37 billion was collected from seven licensed eSabong operators from January to March 2022.
However, with eSabong out, PAGCOR projected a revenue loss of up to P5 billion for this year.
Dagaman feared that they may experience prolonged revenue loss because of the continued suspension of eSabong operations.
The ban on eSabong have impacted the livelihood of about 3.2 million Filipinos who come from various businesses built around the gamefowl industry.
