Cockpit politics

Who would have imagined that ownership of a cockpit or sabungan in today’s modern world, would become an actual model to learn about crowd funding, shares and share appreciation as well as how hostile takeovers can be done through local politics? I myself was amused and surprised when I heard that the long standing local sabungan in Lipa City has become an example of how some businesses are subjected to unsolicited offers, acquisition attempts as well as seeming hostile takeover maneuvers by way of politics, fake news and bureaucratic challenge etc.

From what I gathered, the local sabungan of Lipa located in Barangay Balintawak was acquired by a long retired police officer Col. “Kati” Katigbak who once served directly under President Fidel Ramos. The retired cop happened to be a long time cockfighting aficionado who managed to buy a share in the cockpit when it was first put up. Through the years, his other co-owners who were not really sabungeros eventually sold their shares to Col. “Kati” Katigbak until he eventually became the majority share holder of the cockpit. Like any business owner, Col. Kati knew that it was always best to be friends with City Hall and regardless of who was in power, he always did his best to have good relations.

The policy always worked until a new administration came into power and before Col. Katigbak knew it, he was being labeled as a supporter of the previous Mayor so that his application or permit to operate the only cockpit in Lipa might be blocked or delayed. Apparently some businessmen and low level politician had long been salivating to take over the ownership or operations of the cockpit. They had made offers to Col. Katigbak but way below Katigbak’s appreciation of the business and disregarding its long term income potential. Failing to politically blacklist Katigbak with the new Mayor Eric Africa and finding their offer politely turned down, the group found contacts at the Lipa City hall for someone to inspect the cockpit and come up with all the possible safety issues or violations they could find so that the cockpit could be closed down “for major repairs” or to stop operations. Fortunately, the guys from City Hall simply did their job and as a result, the establishment only needed to undergo repairs and upgrades.

So the group and Col. Katigbak ended up with a stalemate while Lipa City Mayor Africa has been smart enough to step away from the mess. When I asked Col. Katigbak about the situation, he said that he was willing to let go of the business given his age but it was very unfair and disrespectful to lowball him for a business that makes money with little operating cost. Worst case scenario he said would be for him to sell the cockpit to other sabungeros at a price even lower than he was offered. Just to complete this business model presentation or example, maybe Col. Katigbak should just form a corporation, sell smaller shares at affordable prices and sell them exclusively to his many sabungero friends and contacts who are members of Congress, governors, mayors, businessmen and in media. That way, any greedy group of local politicians or businessmen will be discouraged to take away the one place where Filipinos enjoy the National Past Time that is Sabong.

However things turn out, I hope that the locals keep in mind that the cockpit is a mini business center for food, parking, retail as well as livelihood directly related to the sport. Shutting down the business or badly managing the situation will hurt hundreds of people and the businesses will simply move to other towns nearby. Instead of squabbling over a part time business, they should all find a way to level up, expand the business and make it an attraction as well as a livelihood center because is just as famous for gamefowls and game farms as Bacolod.       

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Is it possible that celebrities are being targeted by the “Basag Kotse Gang” ? Is this the same gang that the QCPD/ Marikina police arrested in 2018 and are possibly now prowling by virtue of their bail? These are just some of the questions and possibilities that came to mind after watching the latest police report where Party list Representative and former media personality Rowena “Nina” Taduran became the victim of the Basag Kotse Gang who have a knack for knowing which car to hit, when and where to do it.

What I find interesting in the situation is that approximately two weeks before the Taduran Basag Kotse incident, I remember watching a previous police story where TV Actress Barbie Forteza was the victim in a Basag Kotse incident around Christmas day or the day after. I remember another celebrity being victimized in 2019 but I just can’t recall the name but she was also an entertainment celebrity who just stopped for a bite to eat and became the victim of the smash and grab gang. The thing about all this is that in 2018, the number of Basag Kotse incidents were so rampant and wide-spread that it felt like there were copy cats, or the gang was doing hits as they traveled through different provinces while they were vacationing. It got so bad that even a police officer was not spared as he found his car broken into. Was it simply by chance that after a police officer was victimized that the gang was subsequently arrested?

What’s unique about the current cases is that the victims so far are celebrities and I have not heard of regular people being victimized. I hope that our friends at the PNP will begin to take notice of these incidents because it’s scary to think that a gang could be monitoring or stalking their victims. Its the sort of possibility where the crimes could escalate into kidnapping and rape. Hopefully now that a Congresswoman who also has friends in the PNP had been victimized, maybe the PNP will start tracking these criminals to find out if it’s the same hoodlums or if there are new players in town.

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