Villar hails contribution of game fowl industry to PH economy despite controversy on ‘e-sabong’ (Sabong News)

Senator Cynthia Villar recently lauded hobbyists, suppliers, manufacturers and other stakeholders in the Philippine game fowl industry for helping keep the activity alive even at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Villar hailed the game fowl enthusiasts for keeping the industry active during the 8th International Game Fowl Festival which started last February 25 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City. “This opening of the game fowl industry doors this year hopes to bring together leading game fowl breeders, pigeon raisers, exotic animal hobbyists, veterinary and nutrition suppliers, game fowl suppliers, pigeon suppliers, pigeon fanciers, incubators, feed manufacturers, and related products and services catering to game fowl, pigeon raising and exotic animals,” said Villar in a message read by her daughter Deputy Speaker Representative Camille Villar. “You have also included a reptile expo which will showcase reptiles and other exotic animals,” the chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture added. Nevertheless, Villar said that as the country looks forward to a better year ahead, it is imperative to always balance the vaccination program to protect people from COVID-19 and to give them opportunity to have a decent job to support their family. The senator noted that the game fowl sector was hit hard by the pandemic because of the limited movements and restrictions brought by the community quarantines. She pointed out the game fowl industry reported huge losses brought about by the pandemic. “The sales of ‘ready-to-fight’ game fowls in 2020, which dropped due to limited movements and restrictions brought by the community quarantines, was huge amounting to billions of pesos. This included a sales drop of 50 percent to the P30-billion feeds industry and a loss of around P15 billion to the veterinary products sector,” she said. Villar, however, stressed the importance of addressing the challenges facing the game fowl industry especially after the issue regarding the missing online cockfighting enthusiasts surfaced. The Senate has recently started its investigation into the so-called “e-sabong” with the panel, chaired by Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, eager to file a resolution seeking the temporary suspension of the operations of seven firms catering to electronic cockfighting amid the alleged abduction of 31 individuals involved. To date, Villar acknowledged that the challenge for the “e-sabong” is to find a legal platform due to the ongoing controversy surrounding this sport. She further noted that the closure of over 3,000 cockpits nationwide resulted to the loss of jobs of hundreds of thousands of cockpit employees as well as 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 the quarantine restriction eases, Villar said the cockpit arenas hope to formally reopen and contribute to the revival of the economy. She pointed out that the guidelines of issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) last Dec. 14, 2021 prevented the opening of cockfighting under levels 4, 3, and 2 as it was classified as a high-risk for transmission. “Due to this…cockfighting is now found online via mobile or desktop. In fact, enthusiasts are now into e-sabong, while the operators keep innovating. There are licensed sites, and bettors can watch the game via live-stream,” Villar related.