Cock fighters

With no more tupada and cocks, sabong can still happen in the barangay this time with the sabungero husbands pitted against their whistleblowing wives.

Among the vices Filipino men are known for is gambling through cockfighting. While there are legal cockfighting games conducted by government-licensed organizers in a legitimate cockpit arena, there are also organizers of underground derbies dubbed as tupada held in isolated places in the countryside to avoid police detection.

One such tupada is located at an idle lot in Barangay Pasong Buaya in Imus, Cavite until it was busted when plainclothes policemen raided it over the weekend. A total 21 cock owners, bettors and organizers of the covert sabong were caught by surprise and arrested for illegal gambling. Some tried to escape but failed because the place was surrounded by undercover cops.

The police also seized cocks used in the gambling, bet money and “tari” or blades fitted on the cocks’ legs.

The arrested men did not expect their secret cockpit to be discovered. The police admitted being ignorant of the said tupada, but they got a tip from unlikely but very reliable sources.

Col. Jun Alamo of the Imus Police revealed that it was the men’s wives who reported the tupada. He said the wives were angry at their husbands’ spending their money on gambling.

Likely, those avid sabungero were also caressing their fowls more than their wives, making them jealous.

Ironically, the arrested sabungero had to post bail draining the family’s meager budget even more and somehow defeating the objective of their wives to spare the sabong money for them.

With no more tupada and cocks, sabong can still happen in the barangay this time with the sabungero husbands pitted against their whistleblowing wives.