Pangasinan town cockpit operator, employees nabbed in NBI raid

BAGUIO CITY —  A cockpit operator, and six others, including his employees and bettors, were apprehended by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)-Alaminos District Office for illegally conducting cockfights at the LAFA Cockpit Arena in Barangay Seselangen, Sual, Pangasinan.

Ariel Rabara Borjal, the cockpit operator and manager, along with Jordan Gopio, Gilbert DC Reyes, Dexter Gabrillo, brothers Ronelio and Rizalino Arboleda, and Rashad Guliman, were reportedly holding cockfights on Thursdays, which is prohibited under Section 5 of Presidential Decree 449. The law permits cockfights only on Sundays, legal holidays, and during fiestas for no more than three days.

Tipsters reportedly informed the NBI that, despite the LAFA Cockpit Arena being sanctioned by the Alaminos LGU, it continued to hold cockfights on weekdays, specifically on Thursdays.

With the assistance of confidential informants, the NBI agents validated the tips over two Thursdays in January, leading to a raid on February 13, where Borjal and his employees were apprehended.