BAGUIO CITY (February 18, 2025) – A cockpit operator and 6 more including his employees and bettors were taken by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)-Alaminos District Office after they were found illegally holding cockfights at the LAFA Cockpit Arena in barangay Seselangen in Sual, Pangasinan.
Ariel Rabara Borjal, cockpit operator and manager and Jordan F. Gopio; Gilbert DC Reyes; Dexter A. Gabrillo; brothers Ronelio and Rizalino F. Arboleda and Rashad M. Guliman reportedly held cockfights on Thursdays, which are banned by Section 5 of PD 449 that only allows cockfights during Sundays and legal Holidays and ruing fiestas for not more than three days.
Tipsters reportedly told the NBI that though the LAFA Cockpit Arena is sanctioned by the Alaminos LGU, it held cockfights even during weekdays, particularly on Thursdays.
With the help of confidential informants, the tips were validated by NBI agents in at least two Thursdays in January, prompting them to launch a raid Thursday last week, February 13, where Borjal and his employees were caught.
