Duterte asked to allow regulated cockfighting

CEBU, Philippines —  Ako Bisaya Partylist Rep. Sonny Lagon has appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte to allow regulated cockfighting industry to resume operations as thousands of stakeholders nationwide are losing billions of pesos amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Lagon, in a letter to Duterte, said he is in solidarity of the game fowl industry for the resumption of cockfighting activities in general community quarantine areas subject to applicable health and safety protocols.

According to Lagon, the feeds industry has already loss P30 billion while the veterinary products sector loss about P15 billion so far.

Lagon said 14,000 poultry supply stores nationwide and around 60,000 commercial breeders as well as the 30,000 backyard breeders have also suffered from the pandemic due to the significant drop on its sales.

Thousands of employees are out of jobs with the closure of over 3,000 cockpits nationwide including cockpit vendors, farmhands and employees of companies engaged in the manufacture and sale of feeds, veterinary supplies, farm equipment and others which comprise the industry’s supply chain.

“As a respected son of the gamefowl industry being looked up to by many of its stakeholders, it is with deepest faith in His Excellency sense of fairness and compassion that I contribute my voice to the urgent plea for the resumption of regulated cockfighting activities in some parts of the country to revive the once robust industry and extend a much needed lifeline to hundreds of thousands of Filipinos who have lost their livelihood during the pandemic,” Lagon’s letter reads.

He added that the thousands of stakeholders affected were not given social amelioration by the government despite their contribution to the national economy.

Lagon, however, said that the gamefowl industry is not seeking a direct assistance, especially with the gradual opening of the economy, but what the stakeholders are asking is for the resumption of operation. — FPL (FREEMAN)