GINGOOG City Police Chief P/Lt.Col. Dennis G. de los Santos assured the City Council on Monday, September 29, that a raid would be conducted if the Mercado Sports Arena operates on any day other than Sunday, specifically mentioning the upcoming Saturday.
De los Santos was invited to the regular council session to explain why no action was taken against the arena despite police responding to reports on three previous Saturdays — August 30, September 6, and September 13 — that the venue was attempting to operate without a special permit.
The police chief told council members he initially refrained from action “due to humanitarian reasons, as many are involved who cannot pay the amount of the fine.”
“But the management (Mercado Sports Arena) has been warned. So for sure if there is a cockfight this coming Saturday, there will be a raid,” De los Santos added.
The invitation to the police chief, according to presiding City Councilor Winfred Militan Jr., was simply to gather information for the purpose of legislation, allowing the council to study what might be lacking in the city ordinance.
Councilor Stephanie Kho noted, “There are incident reports and there are violations based on our city ordinance and based on national law, which does not include Saturdays. But no penalty has been imposed against Mercado Arena, so we urge our police to really enforce this law.”
Councilor Jerome Magan reiterated that in compliance with national and city laws, cockfighting is only allowed on Sundays unless a special permit is obtained for Saturdays.
“We have received many complaints, especially on social media. Almost every Saturday. And supposedly, young people are allowed to enter the arena. That is why this law should be implemented,” Magan said.
Councilor Anjun Gomez, chairman of the Committee on Games and Amusement, clarified that since July 1, no special permit has been issued to hold games on Saturdays at the city’s two venues, the Lunao Cockpit and the Mercado Sports Arena.
“They are only on Sundays. At the moment, there is no Saturday yet,” he said.
Councilor Militante concluded the discussion by asking De los Santos to submit an incident report on the events of August 30, September 6, and September 13.
“Then we will submit it to the mayor’s office. we will give the chief executive the right to decide on the implementation of the ordinance,” Militante said.
