Mayor Sara backs ‘online sabong’ (Sabong News)
Author
Antonio Colina IV
Date
APRIL 13 2021
DAVAO CITY – Almost a year after cockfighting was banned here, Mayor Sara Duterte said she has endorsed to the city council the proposed ordinance on “electronic cockfighting”.
During her live program over Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5) Monday, Dutrerte sees a need to look for other means to prop up its income after it decided to reduce local fees and charges in favor of the local businesses which are going through hard times due to the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
“We’ve seen the income from (cockfighting) is big although it’s not something that will drown the city without it. But we need to look for money from other sources because we can no longer rely on our regular sources like the local taxes, especially now that the businesses are going through difficult times,” she said.
Duterte added that she thought of pursuing the proposed measure because local authorities keep on arresting individuals in the communities for continuously staging illegal cockfights despite the prohibition.
“We’re seeing a possibility of revenues from electronic sabong while still being able to meet the need of the bettors to play the game safely in the confines of their cell phones or laptops. Through this, we can follow the COVID-19 protocols because there are only a few of them in the venue because their audience is online. We can resolve so many things once we get this ordinance ready,” she said.
Duterte banned the cockfights in the city last April 2020 after several individuals had been infected with COVID-19 after attending the “Araw ng Davao” celebration six-cock derby” at the New Davao Matina Gallera in March, making it the Ground Zero for the outbreak in Mindanao.
