10JILI Sabong History: From Palawan in 1521 to the 2022 Suspension

Online e-sabong has been suspended nationwide since 2022, and sabong history shows why that suspension landed on a much older tradition. The 10JILI sabong legal overview covers the law as it stands today. This page tells you how sabong got there, one dated step at a time.

Sabong history in one table: 1521 to 2026

Each row is a dated step, and the last column tells you what kind of source stands behind it.

Year	What happened	Source type
1521	Pigafetta records cockfights in Palawan	Newspaper of record citing his journal
1810	Tomas de Comyn describes roosters kept across Manila’s suburbs	Newspaper of record citing his book
1974	PD 449, the Cockfighting Law of 1974, is issued	Decree text
1978	PD 1602 raises penalties on illegal gambling	Decree text
1991	The Local Government Code lets cities and municipalities license cockpits	Statute text
2021	PAGCOR-licensed e-sabong operators begin	PAGCOR list
2022	E-sabong is suspended nationwide, then EO 9 continues the suspension	Executive order text

History of cockfighting in the Philippines before the 1974 decree

The earliest dated record is Antonio Pigafetta’s. In First Voyage Around the World he wrote that in 1521 he witnessed cockfights in Palawan, according to a Philippine Star history of the sport. PAGCOR’s e-sabong framework says the tradition dates back as early as 3,000 years, and that figure is PAGCOR’s own statement.

Spanish colonial rule left a paper record of its own. Fights in that period were held on Thursdays and Sundays, and Tomas de Comyn’s account of the Philippines in 1810 describes roosters kept in Manila’s suburbs and fights at roadside huts. Those details come from the same Philstar history.

Tupada meaning: the old word inside the law

Section 4(a) of PD 449 defines its subject with three local words. It says cockfighting embraces “cockfighting derby, pintakasi or tupada”, or its equivalent terms in different Philippine localities.

Local word	Where PD 449 uses it	What it covers
Derby	Section 4(a)	Cockfighting
Pintakasi	Section 4(a)	Cockfighting
Tupada	Section 4(a)	Cockfighting

That definition matters to you for one reason. The law does not carve out a friendlier category for a tupada: all three names describe cockfighting, and cockfighting is lawful only in licensed cockpits on permitted days. The cockfighting rules for permitted days show what those days are.

How the law changed, from 1974 to EO 9

Five decrees and orders shaped the position you see today.

1. PD 449 (9 May 1974). It treats cockfighting as a customary recreation and says it should not become “an object of commercialism or business enterprise” or a tool of “uncontrolled gambling”.
2. PD 1602 (11 June 1978). It prescribes stiffer penalties on illegal gambling, including illegal or unauthorized cockfighting.
3. RA 7160 (10 October 1991). The Local Government Code gives cities and municipalities the power to license cockpits and regulate cockfighting.
4. PAGCOR e-sabong licensing (2021). Operators such as Lucky 8 Star Quest and Belvedere Vista began operating in April 2021.
5. Suspension (2022). President Duterte ordered e-sabong stopped in a taped Cabinet meeting that aired on 3 May 2022. President Marcos signed Executive Order No. 9 on 28 December 2022 to continue the suspension in writing.

The e-sabong license record lists the nine operators PAGCOR named. The illegal sabong penalty tiers show what PD 1602 attaches to unlicensed fights.

What this history means for you today

History gives you three practical rules.

1. A cockfight you attend in person, in a licensed cockpit, on a permitted day, sits on the long-standing lawful side.
2. A stream you watch or bet on remotely sits on the side EO 9 suspends.
3. Age 21+ is the line PAGCOR’s e-sabong framework used for registration, and it is the line this site uses for every gambling topic.