‘Lead me not into temptation’ – for I can find it myself

Two sabungeros recently visited my gamefowl farm supposedly to talk “sabong” and the possibility of getting a few of my roosters. Given the chance to talk sabong, I readily agreed to meet up with them and on the agreed day, the two individuals arrived, walked around the yard of roosters but strangely failed to show the sort of interest that real enthusiasts display. There were no extensive inquiries about the breeds and how I acquired them and even stranger was they never once asked to test or spar the roosters. I simply assumed that they did not see anything of interest, so I decided to wrap things up so we could get back to our chores in the farm.

That’s when the “buyer” spoke up and asked if I would be interested in signing up for a slot on online sabong. I would simply have to fill up the form, sign up and they would follow up the application for approval. I asked why such a slot would interest me since I have never been to the cockpit to fight for at least 30 years? They said they would use the slot to fight their roosters, and I won’t have to fight a single rooster but will still collect “dividends” or commission from the fights as a result of “owning” the slot.

Given my work ethic and disdain for easy money that is too good to be true, I politely said that I was not interested in the slot and that they should just apply for it themselves. That’s when I was informed that being a “media personality” ensures speedy approval. Still I politely declined and said sorry, but it would be in conflict with my beliefs and principles.

Days later, an elderly cockpit owner came to visit to talk about my “Sabong lords” column and I mentioned the offer for an online sabong slot. The gentleman confirmed my every suspicion and then some. If I had simply “accommodated” the two guys who wanted to use my name and signature, they would have probably kept the slot for themselves but not for purposes of fighting roosters but in order to collect daily dividends or commissions based on a percentage of online bets that would have been in the thousands of pesos or hundred thousand-plus per day of fights. In other words, they would have been laughing all the way to the bank while giving me token amounts or “balato” while making me feel indebted to their false generosity.

But worst of all, the slot would have been a trap intended to neutralize or prevent me from being critical of online sabong since my name and signature would have been in the books of the operator who might have been fooled into believing he had me in his pocket full of cash!

What’s tragic is that one or two individuals in media have allegedly fallen for the trap or took up the juicy promise of dividends by putting their name on the slot until word got out that blabber mouths in the cartel have been bragging of having the two media persons under their control. I found it hard to believe because they have never been into sabong whether as breeders, fighters or bettors. Nonetheless, the word got out and so one of the media guys had to transfer the account or slot to a “dummy” instead.

What’s interesting is that was not the first time. When E-Sabong started, someone had already invited me to join the fights and gave a guaranteed fee for every time I fought a rooster separate from my bet, win or lose. It was very much the same scheme but centered primarily on signing up to fight and collect a premium. In hindsight, I realize that if I agreed, I would then be branded as a protector of the “Sabong Lords.”

I find all of these deceptions so childish and pointless because I have always said that if the Duterte administration and the Pagcor have taken it upon themselves to be the “Sabong Lords of the Philippines” it’s all legal and as long as it keeps the entire gamefowl industry thriving, then so be it.

HOWEVER, Pagcor really needs to go over a few issues that will ultimately be their curse and challenge. First, they need to impose a minimum online bet of at least upwards of P5,000 so that the nickel and dime piso-piso bettors such as minors and minimum wage earners are prevented from a habit-forming vice that has ruined marriages, broken families and resulted in physical harm, bankruptcy and unpublicized suicides of people who can’t afford this form of gambling. Even pro-online cockers support the 5K to 10K minimum.

Another thing the Pagcor has to state clearly is what their policy is in terms of the promotion or expanded coverage of online sabong. Is Pagcor simply controlling the illegal online operators or are they actively convincing various cockpits to adapt their E-Sabong franchise program, which is too expensive for many owners of traditional cockpits.

One former cockpit operator in the province of Batangas recently recounted how he had sought the advise of “someone from Pagcor” on how he could resume operations during the pandemic. He was advised to put together investors and simply transform his cockpit into an online operation.

Related to this, there are now electronic betting machines reportedly being used in several cockpits that have eliminated the need for “Kristos” who negotiate odds and bets verbally with other bettors in the cockpit. That means hundreds of thousands of jobs lost forever.

It would also be helpful if Pagcor led the call for mayors to open up traditional cockpits so we can find out how true the rumors are that a cartel has been paying certain mayors P10 million a month to keep cockpits closed and online sabong competitors out of their territories!

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