LAOAG CITY—The Sangguniang
Panlalawigan held a joint committee hearing to tackle alleged illegal
cockfighting activities in the province and in this city.
SP member Vicentito “Toto” M.
Lazo, committee on games and amusement chairperson invited cockpit aficionados
to “pore over facts and procedures in a certain fight provided by the
Presidential Decree (PD) 449 or the cockfighting law”.
During the hearing, Mr. Lazo
asked Alejandro “Bong” Taylan, sole proprietor of the Golden Blade Cockpit
Arena (Laoag City Sports Center) on who acted as the promoter of the
controversial 4th Bakbakan which, he said the provincial board did
not allow.
The SP declared the Laoag
City ordinance that permitted this event “ultra vires”, or invalid.
Mr. Taylan replied that the
President of the United Ilocandia Gamefowl Breeders Association (UNIGBA) Atty.
Windell Chua as the event’s promoter.
The investigating committees
found out that the United Ilocandia Gamefowl Breeders Association (UNIGBA)
spearheaded the ‘Bakbakan’ stag derby on November 10, 2017. UNIGBA is a member
of the National Federation of Gamefowl Breeders (NFGB) Inc.
Mr. Lazo stressed that the
provincial board, on review, declared Laoag’s cockpit franchise ordinance
invalid due to deficiencies in requirement. Yet, he added, they went on to hold
the derby. He said he believes that it was illegal.
He also cautioned Mr. Taylan
that he was admitting that he violated the law. He added that he was under oath
during the said hearing.
The provincial board plans to
pass a measure that would require the registration and filing of the real name
of participants and entries for derbies.
“With these joint committee
hearing, we have the intentions to have some amendments or add requirements in
our ordinance,” concluded SP member Davinci M. Crisostomo, committee on laws
chairperson. (Bernard Ver)
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