SABONG in PH: Passion or Vice

When you hear the word sabong, is it still something to be dreaded as illegal, dirty and bloody? Or something to be entertained about and lucrative?

Sabong hits every nerve in the Philippine history. Young or old, rich or poor, educated and less informed, it has been a tag for something illegal or considered as an unhealthy vice. But ask the enthusiasts, they would argue with the fact that this is a healthy and, sometimes, profitable hobby that requires a great deal of attention and money. So as time goes by, sabong has maintained a doubled-edged sword to many Filipinos and it might remain that way forever.

Wikipedia tells the history of cock fighting dating back in the 1600s when George Wilson authored the “earliest known book on the sport of cockfighting” – The Commendation of Cocks and Cock Fighting, 1607 – mentioning “cock of the game” to mean as a sport or entertainment using “cock” to represent “game”. It has also been considered as one of the world’s oldest spectator sport because of evidences found in Persia (now knows as Iran) 6,000 years ago. But Filipinos know well, or at least to the knowledgeable and enthusiastic, that sabong in the Philippines started when Ferdinand Magellan and his Spanish troupes arrived in the 1520s.

Not only in the Philippines or the Spanish-speaking countries is sabong acknowledged as a legal blood sport but as well as in the other Eastern Countries of India and China. Greeks, Romans, Europeans, and North and South Americans can all agree to have been in-love with this sport.

So passionate that there has been tons of variations in this sport across the globe. From the weapon to the season, to the arenas and the prizes, and even legality and basis for the game. For instance, the weapon were talking about is the one placed at the heel of the fighting bird. It started with metal spurs or knives, which are called gaffs, and replaced with small rubber globes, more like a boxing glove, to protect the bird and its owner since gaffs are much more “life threatening”. Another deviation is the season of fighting – some organize the match during colder or hotter months to assure high potency in fighting thus higher entertainment. The so-called arenas are either make-shift in small villages whenever there is a fiesta or just a bet with friends or a bigger venue such as a coliseum where hundreds of sulatadas can be accommodated. With regards to basis for the game, usually it’s entertainment. But now, most especially in the Philippines, it’s regarded as an investment so rooster raisers take this sport very seriously and not to be entertained but to win and get richer.

It has been reported that cockfighting in our county is a big business and by big, we mean billions of pesos. Multinational companies and corporations support sabong in different forms such as feeding products, supplements, other breeders’ supplies, and even sponsoring a major derby event. Some sabungeros, a cock fighter breeder or owner, have farms to tend to pedigree breeds. Yes, pedigree breeds ONLY. Based on research, almost all the cock fighting roosters are of foreign breeds so you can actually assume that it needs high standards of TLC. That is also why being in the business of sabong is a big risk.

The legality of the sport is backed up with national declarations since the 1980s (establishment of Philippine Gamefowl Commission by the Presidential Decree 1802) and later in the 1990s, the Omnibus Local Government Code of 1991 abolished the national control and gave it to local government offices instead. Giving the chance for small enterprises to hold derbies and eventually lead to unauthorized cock fights around the country.

And the popularity of the sport continues even at the age of Internet. And here in Kasador.net, you better watch out for September 25^th. It’s going to be a blast.