CEBU CITY –– After getting the green light from national officials, the Cebu City Gamefowl Commission recommended the gradual resumption of cockfighting activities in the city’s licensed arenas.
Cebu City Councilor Raymond Garcia, who heads the commission, said the guidelines still need the approval of Mayor Edgardo Labella, who earlier expressed apprehensions in allowing the resumption of cockfighting even if the city is already under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), the lowest form of community quarantine enforced by the government.
Labella, however, changed his mind and stressed the responsibility of the Gamefowl Commission to look into the matter and make the proper recommendations.
Early this month, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) has allowed cockfighting in areas under MGCQ.
Local government, however, will have the last say as to whether or not the operation of licensed cockpits can proceed.
“In coming up with guidelines, adequate consultations should be made with different stakeholders,” the mayor said.
Cockfighting is a popular blood sport in the Philippines, where money is bet on the outcome of a fight between two cocks armed with bladed spurs.
It was banned along with other sporting and cultural events during the start of the coronavirus pandemic to prevent mass gatherings and to slow down the spread of the virus.
The Cebu City Gamefowl Commission recommended, among others, that the operations of licensed cockpit arenas be allowed only up to 10 p.m. every day and the number of spectators inside a licensed arena at one time be limited to 50 percent of the venue’s capacity.
People should also continue wearing face masks and face shields, observe physical distancing and sign up for contact tracing activities.
Temperature checks will also be conducted at the entrance to the arena, while the management will be required to provide alcohol, or soap and water, as well as foot baths with disinfectant at the entrance.
The commission said only three people would be allowed inside the cockpit where the cocks fight.
The crowd is prohibited from shouting of bets, while transactions will be cashless or through coupons.
Among the licensed cockfighting arenas in Cebu City are those located in Pulangbato, Inayawan, and Duljo Fatima, and Tejero.