MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has warned about a circulating “unnumbered and unsigned” memorandum circular about the guidelines on the modernization of cockfighting in the Philippines.
In a statement on Friday, DILG clarified that the document “was not prepared, released or issued by this department.”
“As it is not an official document, it is fake, thus bears no force and effect,” it stressed.
DILG later added: “The public is advised to be wary of these spurious documents and to trust only official sources.”
The department reiterated that its latest directive on the operations of cockpits is DILG Memorandum Circular No. 2022-003 dated January 19, 2022, which allows the operations of cockpits and traditional cockfighting in areas under alert level 2 or lower, provided there are no objections from the concerned local governments and health protocols are observed strictly.
Only technology-based platforms and cashless betting are authorized to prevent the physical exchange of cash anywhere in the cockpit.
READ: Monitor cockfights, DILG tells local governments