Filipina Sells Baby to Pay Off Online Cockfighting Debt

Cockfighting is the scourge of the Philippines. Billions are wasted every year on raising fighting cocks. Land which could be used for more productive purposes is devoted to housing these birds. Due to the nature of gambling cockfighting attracts criminals and breeds crime. Recently the Senate held hearings concerning the more then 30 sabungeros or cockfighters who have disappeared over the past few months. They have probably been murdered over gambling debts. 

Debt is a natural byproduct of cockfighting. People lay wager after wager and lose big. One lady owed P45,000 in gambling debts. Of course she paid that debt off the only way she knew how, by selling her baby.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/familyandrelationships/825588/woman-sells-her-9-month-old-baby-to-pay-for-e-sabong-debt/story/

A woman sold her nine-month-old baby for P45,000 to pay for the debt she incurred while betting on e-sabong and for other living expenses.

According to “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho,” the woman, “Carla,” served as an agent of online sabong for extra income but she eventually got hooked into placing her own bets.

It reached a point where she was unable to pay the money she borrowed, so she thought about selling one of her kidneys.

[“Someone posted about buying kidneys, I commented. They offered 1.5 [million]. The 500,000 will go to the agent and I will receive the P1 million. But it didn’t go through.”]

Where was she looking online for selling kidneys? Facebook? Is it safe to say that cockfighting debts plays a role in the blackmarket organ trade?

As the lenders kept asking for their money back, Carla became stressed and felt cornered. She couldn’t think of any other way to get some cash, so she thought about selling her own baby.

She posted about it in a closed group online, where she eventually met a buyer who initially offered P20,000.

[“I said I have another buyer who has a bigger offer. [We negotiated] up to 45,000. [The buyer said] that they will make the adoption legal and hire a lawyer.”]

Asked whether she had second thoughts about pushing through with the transaction, Carla said doubts did cross her mind. But she couldn’t think of anything else to do.

Who did this lady borrow money from in order to gamble? Obviously it was not from a bank. Doubtful it was from a legal private lender. More likely it was from a 5-6 lender which is 100% illegal. Is it safe to say that cockfighting plays a role in the blackmarket lending economy?

Pretty sad that this lady could think of no better way to pay her debt than to sell her baby.

She went to a fast food restaurant in Quezon City and met with someone, but it was not the person she spoke to online.

[“She was not wearing a face mask. She has light skin, slightly chubby, small eyes, and a tall nose. She had me sign something so I would not ask for my child back.”]

The baby was sleeping when Carla handed her over. After the transaction, however, the mother had a change of heart.

[“After I hailed a taxi, I sent a chat to the buyer, asking for my child back. I told her that I will return the money. But she had already blocked me.”]

Carla used P7,000 of the money she received to buy a cellphone. She then paid for her debt and gave P30,000 to her aunt for safekeeping.

Some change of heart. Seems it was not enough of a change of heart to not use the money.  The money does not add up either. If her debt was P45,000 then she spent P82,000. But she said she negotiated to P45,000. The numbers don't add up but that is the least of the problems with this story.

She left her live-in partner, “Ben,” in the dark about the transaction. She made an excuse about leaving their baby with her mother, and then said she bought the phone for P2,000 from a friend. She also deleted her chat messages with the buyer.

Ben felt something was off about Carla’s excuses. When he asked her to video call her mother so he could see their child, she burst into tears and confessed everything.

After learning the truth, it was Ben’s turn to break down.

[“I cried. I asked her, ‘Why did you do that?’ I couldn’t accept it. I told her, ‘You might be the only woman who would do that to her own child!’”]

This lady is stupid. Stupid beyond belief. Did she really think her boyfriend would never find out? Did she really think she could just sell her baby and no one would care? 

The NBI got on the case right away and in just a little over a week they found the baby.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1572342/nbi-rescues-baby-sold-by-mother-to-pay-off-debt

An 8-month-old baby girl was rescued by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Laguna after being sold by her mother to pay off her debt.

The baby’s father said his daughter was rescued by NBI operatives in Laguna on Tuesday after they received information that the child was in Calamba City.

(We went there and we saw the house. We tailed the vehicle that left the house.)

(We followed the vehicle that left the house of those who took my child until we reached Sta. Cruz, Laguna. We cornered the woman when he alighted the vehicle to buy fruits, then we saw my daughter.)

The baby is currently in the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, according to her father.

He said the DSWD has promised to later return the baby to him.

Earlier reports said that the baby’s mother pleaded for help to recover her daughter after she regretted having sold the baby for P45,000 to pay off her e-sabong (online cockfighting) debt.

But in her Teleradyo interview, she said her debt was not because of e-sabong and that she only owes P10,000.

“(I had a debt but it was not due to e-sabong),” she said.

However, she admitted to having participated in online cockfighting.

Unbelievable. This lady's debt was only P10,000 and now she claims is was not related to cockfighting. She sold her baby for $200! Well, at least the NBI was able to rescue the baby. ABS-CBN is reporting that one of those involved is a Nigerian who has overstayed his visa. I find it rather amazing at how many African criminals are operating in the Philippines. Now even shabu is being shipped to the Philippines from Africa!

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1170339

Online cockfighting exploded in 2020 during the nationwide lockdowns. People wanted to watch roosters fight to the death even if they could not be there in person. A rise in crimes has accompanied the growth of e-sabong. There have been calls to shut it down but Duterte says he will not issue such an order because of all the revenue it generates for the government.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1170051

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on Thursday said e-sabong or online cockfighting in the country contributes to revenue that can be used to fund the government’s Universal Health Care (UHC) program.

In a speech in Palo, Leyte, Duterte reiterated that the government has earned over PHP640 million monthly since January from the online gambling activity.

“E-sabong gives the government PHP642 million a month. In one year, it gives the government billions,” he said.

Aside from providing funding for hospitals and medicine, he said revenues generated from e-sabong can also be used for education and infrastructure.

Duterte said temporarily closing down the businesses of operators without any violations would be unfair.

“It's not the fault of the management...it's the fault of evil men doing something wrong,” he added.

Duterte should ask himself why evil men are attracted to cockfighting. It's because the nature of cockfighting is evil. Gambling compromises men and presses them to do unspeakable acts like selling their baby or organs. In the case of one cop he resorted to robbery to pay his debts. In essence Duterte is saying ruined lives pay for universal healthcare and infrastructure and he is fine with that. How charming.

The Philippines needs to end cockfighting. The civilized world long ago outlawed animal fighting. The Philippines may think they are in the modern world with all the Western comforts of tennis shoes, McDonald's, and the internet but that is just a sheen to cover the truth. The truth is that the Philippines remains backwards and there is no better symbol of that than the fighting cock strutting his stuff over the internet. It's like using a fridge for tool storage. 

Flying Fighting Cocks

I accompanied a friend to the cargo side of the local airport and noticed something strange. Actually I heard something strange.  The cluck of a rooster. I looked around and sure enough there were several boxes of small flightless birds waiting to be loaded onto a large flying metal bird and flown to new destinations.

I don't understand why theses fighting cocks sometimes get packed with their tails sticking out. Seems unnecessary and maybe even painful.

A guy with a badge that read Gamefowl Handler was mulling about so I asked him how many chickens come through here each day.  He said 200-300.  I asked where do they go. He said Manila and all over. So just remember the next time you are on a plane or you see one flying overhead there are likely to be fighting cocks stored in the cargo area on their way to fight or breed in a new city.

Cock Fighting is Easy Money

Seriously take a look at all the money you could win all for doing nothing but pitting one chicken against another:

Now let's say you win all ten spots. That would be sweet and you'd be getting 65,000 pesos. Pretty good right?

http://www.sabong.net.ph/forum/showthread.php?75457-Cost-in-raising-Gamefarm-in-PI

This guy estimates that it costs 47,500 pesos per month to raise 250 roosters.  That's 570,000 pesos per year.  Which is $11,400 at todays exchange rate.  This estimate is four years old so the cost has probably risen.  Also the less cocks you raise the less money it will cost.

570,000 per year with a one time win of 65,000 pesos is hardly a profit. In fact it's still a loss.  But if you keep at it who knows?  Your cocks will probably become better fighters and you can enter more profitable tournaments.  

You might even make it to the BIG TIME!

World Slasher Cup is also known as the "Olympics of Cockfighting"

The cup is the high end of global cockfighting. To enter a single bird in the competition costs $1,750, more than half a year’s salary for the average Filipino.Wealthy owners often have more than just the money; they have dedicated farms and full-time trainers caring for hundreds of fowl that could sell for well over $1,000 apiece. Vaccines, antibiotics, vitamins, and supplements are all part of the modern game fowl’s life. Traditional methods of revving up your bird for a fight, like slipping cayenne up its anus, have given way to pricey steroids and other powerful drugs.  

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2014/12/cockfighting_and_chicken_history_the_world_slasher_cup_in_the_philippines.html

With all that potentially easy money no wonder there is a rooster in every yard and tied to every pole. Who would want to miss out on the chance of being able to tell the story of how you rose up through the ranks and won a whole lot of money at the "Olympics of Cockfighting?" 

There are, of course, other stories. There is the young villager who spent all his hard-earned money saved from an overseas job, and the children who suffer from malnutrition while their father’s roosters live a well-fed life. For the millions packed into Manila’s sprawling slums, cockfighting offers a fast way up the socioeconomic ladder or a quick tumble into indigence. And while the birds are famously pampered outside the ring, most end up dead inside it.

Of course, like the Highlander, there can be only one and that one will probably not be you.  So that is 570,000 pesos (or less depending on how many birds you raise) that could feed your family, buy medicine, procure dental care, buy clothes and slippers, pay for schooling, and pay the bills all flushed right down the toilet. 

Or rather, stuffed down some cock's throat.

Who Stole all the Fighting Cocks?

A few days  ago a tale was told me about the fowlest robbery you ever did hear!

Friday night / Saturday morning an anonymous thief or group of thieves stole a neighbour's seven fighting cocks. They left his his two turkeys and his two goats behind.

How did this happen?  We have a guard at the gate. In fact there are three guards every night! One watches the gate and the other two roam the neighbourhood. Were they around?  Did they just wave these guys right in?

Did they even come through the front gate?  There is a river bordering our gated community which is wide open and thieves constantly cross the waters looking to steal. But how would you transport seven cocks across the river? You would need several conspirators. I can't imagine holding each bird close to the chest and running through the woods and across the river.  No.  Its obvious they had a get away vehicle.

Oh well. It is too sad.  Maybe try not raising fighting cocks in a gated community. There are already four other large game farms in this place. Why???  This is a gated community for people!  Not a place to raise farm animals!

Once a family a few houses down slaughtered a pig on its premises! As I sat in my room I heard the blood-curdling and nearly human scream as they sliced its throat. 

Fighting chickens is not only morally reprehensible it is also not profitable. The ratio of money spent on raising fighting cocks to actually making a profit is slim to none. It's just not worth the hassle.  The money is better spent on food and clothes and medicine. 

This is a picture of what his game farm looked like a few months ago.

Now it's all quiet and there are no fowl noises to be heard.

Fighting Cocks

Fighting cocks are everywhere in this country.  After all, cockfighting is the national sport of the Philippines. In order to fight cocks you have to breed and raise them so what better place to set up huge fighting cock breeding grounds but in a gated residential community.

It's cock-a-doodle-do all day long.  They don't just crow at sunrise.  They crow whenever they feel like it. Even at 2am!  Such a cacophony of noise along with the motorcycles, tricycles, fish vendors, barking dogs, and loud music and televisions coming from each house.

In the second picture you can see they didn't even bother to put up a fence around the area.  Instead they sit out in a chair all day and watch their cocks.  They also have two dogs tied up to trees.  How is that supposed to stop any of the stray dogs from stealing a chicken at night?  

Its really a waste of space.  The land could be used more productively by growing crops or building a house.  Build a house?  In a gated residential community?  No let's just raise fighting cocks.  

The are in the fourth picture doesn't just have fighting cocks.  There's also a goat and a few turkeys.  Of course the only real turkeys are the men who fight cocks and decide to raise them in residential areas.  

But it's not just residential areas.  It's everywhere! Hens and cocks are literally all over the place in this country.  Everywhere there is a spare area they will tie one up and build him a little hut. Makes no sense.  

But that's the Philippines.  Nothing here makes sense.