ILOILO — Five individuals were arrested by local police after being caught engaging in illegal cockfighting in a mountainous area of Barotac Viejo, Iloilo.
Police Major Francis Batallones, chief of the Barotac Viejo Municipal Police Station (MPS), reported that most of those apprehended are residents of Barotac Viejo, while others hail from the neighboring towns of Ajuy and Lemery.
According to Batallones in a report of K5 News FM Sara, law enforcers launched the operation on Sunday morning, November 1, after receiving verified tips regarding illegal cockfighting activities that had been routinely operating in the area.
While five suspects were caught during the raid, three other individuals managed to evade arrest and fled the scene.
Recovered from the site were six fighting cocks along with various cockfighting paraphernalia.
The five individuals remained in the custody of the Barotac Viejo MPS.
Formal charges for violating Presidential Decree No. 1602, or the Anti-Illegal Gambling Law, have already been filed against the suspects, police said./PN
