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Feathers fly as Philippine cockfighting shakes off COVID closures

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Story by Cecil Morella/ Photos by Jam Sta. Rosa, Agence France-Presse

<div class="media-content"><div class="slider-for"><div><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/10/24/01-ph-cockfight-afp.jpg"/></div><div><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/10/24/02-ph-cockfight-afp.jpg"/></div><div><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/10/24/03-ph-cockfight-afp.jpg"/></div><div><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/10/24/04-ph-cockfight-afp.jpg"/></div><div><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/10/24/05-ph-cockfight-afp.jpg"/></div><div><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/10/24/06-ph-cockfight-afp.jpg"/></div><div><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/10/24/07-ph-cockfight-afp.jpg"/></div><div><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/10/24/08-ph-cockfight-afp.jpg"/></div><div><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/10/24/09-ph-cockfight-afp.jpg"/></div><div><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/10/24/10-ph-cockfight-afp.jpg"/></div></div><div class="slider-desc"><div class="item-desc"><p>A rooster stands on a shelter at a gamefarm in Tanauan, Batangas in this photo taken on Sept. 29, 2022. Shut down for 2 years during the COVID-19 pandemic, traditional cockfighting arenas have reopened across the archipelago nation. Banned in many countries, cockfighting is hugely popular in the Philippines, where millions of dollars are bet on matches every week.<cite> Jam Sta Rosa, AFP</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Gamefarm owner Jo Hernandez tends to his roosters in Dolores, Quezon in this photo taken on July 19, 2022.<cite> Jam Sta Rosa, AFP</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>A man weighs his rooster before a cockfighting match at the San Pedro Coliseum in Laguna province in this photo taken on Aug. 26, 2022.<cite> Jam Sta Rosa, AFP</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Men strap a dagger to a rooster before a cockfighting match at the San Pedro Coliseum in Laguna province in this photo taken on Aug. 26, 2022.<cite> Jam Sta Rosa, AFP</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>People watch a cockfighting match at the San Pedro Coliseum in Laguna province on Aug. 26, 2022.<cite> Jam Sta Rosa, AFP</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Men watch a cockfighting match in San Pedro Coliseum in Laguna province on Aug. 26, 2022.<cite> Jam Sta Rosa, AFP</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>People watch a cockfighting match at the San Pedro Coliseum in Laguna province on Aug. 26, 2022.<cite> Jam Sta Rosa, AFP</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Roosters fight during a cockfighting match at the San Pedro Coliseum in Laguna province in this photo taken on August 26, 2022.<cite> Jam Sta Rosa, AFP</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>A man takes care of an injured rooster after a cockfighting match at the San Pedro Coliseum in Laguna province in this photo taken on August 26, 2022.<cite> Jam Sta Rosa, AFP</cite></p></div><div class="item-desc"><p>A man removes the blades from dead roosters after cockfights at the San Pedro Coliseum in Laguna province in this photo taken on August 26, 2022.<cite> Jam Sta Rosa, AFP</cite></p></div></div></div><p>SAN PEDRO — In a raucous cockpit in the Philippines, Dennis de la Cruz grins from ear to ear as he watches his roosters slash their opponents to death in a frenzy of blood and feathers.</p><p>Shut for 2 years during the COVID-19 pandemic, traditional cockfighting arenas are getting back to full capacity across the archipelago nation.</p><p>Cockfighting is hugely popular in the Philippines, where millions of dollars are bet on matches every week.</p><p>Roosters wearing bladed spurs on their legs go beak to beak in a brutal fight to the death, as spectators -- mostly men -- wager on the result.</p><p>Supporters defend the blood sport as being part of the Filipino identity and argue the birds would be eaten if they did not fight.</p><p>But opponents maintain it is cruel and should be banned, as it is in many other countries.</p><p>&quot;In our village, more than half the residents are cockfighters,&quot; de la Cruz, 64, told AFP at a recent derby in San Pedro, a city south of Manila, where he fell one win short of the P1-million champion&#x27;s pot.</p><p>The son of a longtime cockpit operator, de la Cruz said he had never held a regular job. Instead, he relied on his winnings from the roosters bred by his nephews on a large farm.</p><p>In a country plagued by inequality, cockfighting is a unique &quot;neutral zone&quot; where rich and poor mingle and play by the same rules, said University of the Philippines anthropologist Chester Cabalza.</p><p>Adhering to a strict honor code, spectators prior to the pandemic used hand signals like stock brokers to lay their bets during a match that can last less than a minute.</p><p>It is common for P300,000 to P400,000 to be bet on a single fight, one aficionado told AFP.</p><p>After each fight -- there are 15 per hour -- crumpled banknotes are flung towards the winning bettor.</p><p>Losers welching on bets run the risk of being attacked.</p><p>When cockpits reopened, regulators wary of spreading the coronavirus through excessive crowd interaction ordered operators to install betting machines, so winners could collect their money from the cashier instead.</p><p>&quot;If your cock wins, you stride out of the ring like a tough guy -- you exude a macho image,&quot; said gamefowl breeder Edwin Lumbres, thrusting his chest out for emphasis.</p><p>&quot;But if you lose, you hang your head and shuffle out like somebody whose manhood is suspect.&quot;</p><div><strong>&#x27;FORCED TO FIGHT&#x27;</strong></div><p>Katrina Del Espiritu Santo, of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is pushing for cockfighting to be banned as the birds are &quot;forced to fight to the death&quot;. </p><p>But the activist&#x27;s efforts have failed to gain much traction in the Philippines.</p><p>Fighting roosters are ubiquitous across the country and are prized possessions -- despite their loud crowing at all hours. </p><p>A bird can cost between P3,000 and P15,000 depending on its parents&#x27; win record. </p><p>Fighting fowls are kept in wire cages outside homes in urban areas or in triangular shelters on farms that dot the countryside.</p><p>As cockpits fell silent at the start of the pandemic, many small breeders could not afford to feed their flocks and were forced to sell roosters at firesale prices -- or throw them in the cooking pot. </p><p>Others admitted staging illegal fights to make ends meet. </p><p>To revive the sport and get revenue flowing into government coffers drained by the COVID-19 response, former president Rodrigo Duterte issued permits to 7 outfits to operate online cockfighting.</p><p>Known as e-sabong, fights were held in empty arenas and streamed 24 hours a day, allowing people to place minimum bets of P200 per fight on their mobile phones.</p><p>The sport&#x27;s popularity exploded -- and so did the earnings.</p><p>People who had never watched cockfighting before began betting, while large breeding farms saw demand for their fowl surge.</p><p>Duterte said the national government was raking in P640 million a month in fees -- even as the economy tanked.</p><p>It was also lucrative for e-sabong operators. </p><p>Charlie Ang, who runs Lucky 8 Star Quest, told a Senate inquiry this year that Filipinos wagered between P1 billion and P2 billion on his platform every day, which he claimed accounted for about 95 percent of e-sabong bets.</p><p>But the disappearance earlier in the year of 34 cockfighting workers, who are feared dead, and reports of gamblers being driven to financial ruin revealed the seedy side of e-sabong.</p><p>Some punters reportedly killed themselves, while a woman was arrested for allegedly selling her baby to pay off debts.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/03/23/22/how-govt-rescued-baby-sold-by-mom-over-e-sabong-debts">&#x27;Baby Miracle&#x27;: How gov&#x27;t rescued baby sold by mom over e-sabong debts</a></li></ul><p>Under growing pressure from the public and lawmakers, Duterte reluctantly shut down online cockfighting shortly before his term ended in June.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/03/22/duterte-orders-end-of-e-sabong-operations">&#x27;Working against our values:&#x27; Duterte orders &#x27;end&#x27; of e-sabong operations</a></li></ul><p>But as pandemic restrictions eased in the past year, local governments began giving traditional cockpit operators permission to resume fights -- to the relief of millions of Filipinos.</p><p>&quot;People were angry because their favorite pastime was taken away,&quot; said Dondon Clanor, 45, a cockfighting enthusiast. </p><p>&quot;Now everyone is happy.&quot; </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/21/22/dilg-illegal-e-sabong-sprouting-must-be-stopped">DILG orders clampdown vs e-sabong sites still operating amid Duterte’s kill order</a></li></ul><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1950596" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Shut for 2 years during the COVID-19 pandemic, traditional cockfighting arenas are getting back to full capacity across the Philippines. 

Feathers fly as Philippine cockfighting shakes off COVID closures

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Feathers fly as Philippine cockfighting shakes off COVID closures

Story by Cecil Morella/ Photos by Jam Sta. Rosa,

Agence France-Presse

Published October 24, 2022 11:29 AM PHT

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Updated October 24, 2022 02:10 PM PHT

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Philippines

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cockfighting

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sabong

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