10JILI Cockfighting Rules: How a Licensed Pit Runs and Decides a Fight

Online e-sabong has been suspended since 2022, so the cockfighting rules below describe a licensed cockpit that you attend in person. They come from Presidential Decree No. 449, the Cockfighting Law of 1974, and they sit under the 10JILI sabong overview that covers the wider legal picture. Nothing here tells you to bet on a fight.

Cockfighting rules in one table: 7 terms of a licensed pit

Seven words carry most of what you hear in a cockpit. The table gives each one, the role it names and where the term comes from.

Term	What it names	Where it comes from
Sabungero	A person who follows or takes part in sabong, from owner to spectator	Everyday usage
Sentensyador	The referee who decides the fight	PD 449, Section 4(e)
Taga tari	The gaffer who arms a rooster with the gaff	PD 449, Section 4(d)
Kristo	The bet taker who calls and handles bets in the pit	PD 449, Section 4(c), everyday usage
Meron and wala	The two sides of a fight	Everyday usage
Llamado and dehado	The favoured cock and the underdog	Everyday usage
Ulutan	The matching of two roosters before they are set against each other	Everyday usage

The decree names three roles by law: the gaffer, the referee and the bet taker. Each one needs a yearly license from the city or municipality where the fight is held.

Sabong rules and terms: who may officiate

Section 7 of PD 449 says gaffers, referees and bet takers cannot act in any authorized cockfight without a license. The license renews every year in the officiant’s birth month. Cities and municipalities may charge a tax of not more than ₱20 for it.

Only licensed officials may officiate. That rule is why a fight run by unlicensed people is not a lawful cockfight, however traditional it looks.

Three definitions in the decree do the work:

1. The gaffer (taga tari) is someone knowledgeable in arming fighting cocks with a gaff on either or both legs.
2. The referee (sentensyador) watches the proper gaffing, judges the cocks’ condition and announces the result.
3. The bet taker or promoter calls and takes care of bets, then pays the winners after deducting a commission.

How a sabong fight is decided

The referee’s word ends the fight. PD 449, Section 4(e), describes the job in four steps.

1. The referee watches and oversees the proper gaffing of the fighting cocks.
2. The referee judges the physical condition of each cock while the fight goes on, including injuries and the ability to continue.
3. The referee decides, by word or gesture, what the result is.
4. The referee announces the winner, or declares a tie or a no contest game.

A named example makes it concrete. If one rooster can no longer continue, the referee’s announcement of the other as winner is the result that stands. PD 449, Section 4(f), says a bettor wins or loses according to the result as announced by the referee.

When and where a fight may be held

PD 449 limits the calendar and the number of pits. You can plan around these figures if you want to watch a lawful fight.

Rule	What PD 449 sets
Regular days	Sundays and legal holidays
Local fiesta	Up to 3 days
Fair, carnival or exposition	3 days, on a local resolution, no more than 2 occasions a year in the same city or municipality
Cockpits per city or municipality	1, or 2 where the population is over 100,000
Days fights are prohibited	30 December (Rizal Day), 12 June (Independence Day), 30 November (National Heroes Day), Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and election or referendum day
Other gambling on cockpit premises	Not allowed during cockfights

Your city or municipality issues the cockpit license, so its ordinances add local detail. Ask the local business permit office which pit is licensed and which dates apply.

Why these rules stop at the cockpit door

Executive Order No. 9, signed by President Marcos on 28 December 2022, keeps online wagering on live cockfights suspended nationwide. It does not touch traditional cockfights authorized under existing laws. That split is what makes cockpit rules and e-sabong different questions.

Situation	Do the rules above apply?
A fight in a licensed cockpit you attend in person	Yes, PD 449 and your local ordinances
A live-streamed fight watched or bet on remotely	No, EO 9 suspends remote wagering
A fight in an unlicensed pit	No, it is illegal cockfighting

If you want the dates behind the split, read the sabong history timeline. If you want to know what breaking the decree costs, the illegal sabong penalty tiers list each fine, and the e-sabong license record shows who held a license before the suspension.