MANILA, Philippines — Cockfighting or “sabong” is still prohibited even as the government has placed most areas in the country under the less stringent general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said Friday.
“Bagamat mas maluwag po ang ating mga kautusan, bawal pa din ang sabong saan mang bahagi ng mga lugar na nasa ilalim ng GCQ or MGCQ as we continue to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the country,” Año said in a statement.
(While lockdown rules are now less restrictive, the ban on cockfighting is still in effect in any areas under GCQ and MGCQ as we continue to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the country.)
“Ang GCQ po ay hindi para magawa po natin ang mga gusto nating gawin tulad ng pagsasabong. Ito po ay para gumulong ulit ang ekonomiya. GCQ or MGCQ does not mean we are free of the virus so we must always be vigilant,” he added.
(GCQ does not allow people to do what they want, such as cockfighting. It was imposed to reopen our economy. GCQ or MGCQ does not mean we are free of the virus so we must always be vigilant.)
Año also warned that establishments belonging to industries or sectors that have not been given the go-signal to operate, will face sanctions if they committed violations in Bayanihan law.
“Huwag na pong matigas ang ulo, tayo po ay nasa krisis, sumunod po tayo sa batas (Don’t be stubborn, we are in a crisis, let’s follow the law),” he said.
The DILG chief issued the statement after receiving reports that some LGUs allowed cockpit arenas to operate after the government eased lockdown restrictions.
Año, however, said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) did not issue any resolution to allow cockpit arenas to operate.
In a separate interview with dzBB, Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said cockfighting is not a contactless sport which can pose risk to transmission of the new coronavirus strain.
“Hindi naman ito contactless sport, harap-harapan po iyan at ang pera lumilipad at ang possibility ng community transmission ay napakalaki (This is not a contactless sport, players would face each other and money would fly anywhere and there could be a big possibility of community transmission),” Malaya said.