The prohibition on “sabong” (cockfighting) remains in effect despite the country's transition to a more relaxed general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified GCQ, an official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said on Friday.
“Nililiwanag po ng DILG na bawal po ang sabong hanggang ngayon. Wala pa pong IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases) resolution ang nilalabas upang i-allow ang operasyon ng cockpit arena o sabong sa buong bansa (The DILG clarifies that cockfighting is prohibited until now. The IATF has yet to issue a resolution allowing the operations of cockpit arenas or cockfighting across the country),” DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said in a Laging Handa briefing.
This came following reports that some local government units (LGUs) have already allowed cockfighting in their areas of jurisdiction.
Malaya said these LGUs even have the temerity to issue an executive order to justify cockfighting operations in their areas
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año supported Malaya’s statement.
“Bagamat mas maluwag po ang ating mga kautusan, bawal pa din ang sabong saan mang bahagi ng mga lugar na nasa ilalim ng (While we have less stringent rules, cockfighting remains prohibited in areas under) GCQ or MGCQ as we continue to stop the spread of Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) in the country,” Año said in a statement.
Año also reminded LGUs to keep an eye on cockpit arenas, as well as communities and villages to ensure that they abide by the policies of the IATF and the DILG.
“Bantayan po natin ang mga sabungan na ito at huwag natin silang payagaang magbukas dahil ito po ay labag sa batas (Let us closely watch these cockfighting arenas and do not let them open because this violates the law),” he added.
Tricycles banned on national roads
Meanwhile, Malaya reiterated that tricycles and pedicabs remain banned on national highways.
“Nililinaw po ng DILG na bawal pa rin ang tricycles at pedicabs sa national highways kahit pa nasa GCQ o MGCQ level na ang ilang lokalidad. Bago pa man magsimula ang pandemya ng ay ipinagbabawal na ito ng batas para na rin sa kaligtasan ng publiko (The DILG clarifies that tricycles and pedicabs are banned along national highways even if areas are under GCQ or MGCQ. This has been prohibited even before the pandemic for the safety of the public),” he said.
Malaya noted that what was suspended because of Covid-19 was the “second wave” of road-clearing operations but said this is only temporary. (Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)
