THE Manila Cockers Club recently held a special meeting of the Board of Directors on March 7 at the Manila Golf and Country Club, Makati, with members electing former Rep. Amado S. Bagatsing as its new Chairman of the Board.
Bagatsing is a six-term Congressman and former Chairman of the Games and Amusement Committee of the House of Representatives for seven consecutive years. He is also a well-known breeder and cockfighting enthusiast aside from being a leading horse owner for many years.
Bagatsing believes that MCCI contributes greatly to the cockfighting industry in the country elevating it to a whole new level and providing an additional venue with a nationwide exposure for breeders to exhibit their brand. Breeders can now showcase their game cocks with the possibility of winning prizes offered by MCCI which usually amounts to P3,000,000 with an easy entry fee of P8,888.00. According to Bagatsing, the innovations introduced by MCCI with its new technology in the system of wagering, opened the door to many possibilities in Philippine cockfighting.
Atty. Chino Paolo Roxas, legal counsel of MCCI, said the legality of sabong is beyond question as there is a national law that governs the same, namely the Local Government Code (R.A 7160).
MCCI operates in accordance with the Local Government Code considering that the Municipality of Carmona has granted MCCI the license and authority to operate a cockpit within the San Lazaro Leisure and Business Park located at Carmona, Cavite.
This law and the innovations introduced by MCCI on sabong is prescribed by the Electronic Commerce Act of 2000. The cockfights held by MCCI are broadcast live thru Cignal TV Channel 109 –a licensed satellite television network – and bets placed in MCCI’s betting terminals are accepted, transacted, and consummated in MCCI’s duly-licensed cockpit arena in Carmona, Cavite. The betting terminals of MCCI are likewise licensed by the respective local government units where they operate in accordance with the Local Government Code of 1991. These allow MCCI to revolutionize the game of sabong in this modern age.
The main thrust of MCCI’s operations is to revitalize the breeding industry and at the same time provide aficionados a new method of appreciating the game of sabong.
MCCI’s operations enhanced the viability of small and medium-sized breeding farms across the country. Hundreds of breeders from Kalinga Apayao, Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Pampanga, Laguna, Rizal, Batangas, Quezon, Iloilo, Bacolod, Cavite, Basilan and Davao, among others, have participated in MCCI’s derbies as it has allowed them to pit their game fowls against the best breeders in the country. The demand for fighting cocks have increased on account of MCCI’s operations which likewise caused a surge in the demand for game fowl feeds, vitamins and supplements, and other related businesses. Bagatsing emphasized that in MCCI derbies, all breeders are all on the same playing field.
Aside from the foregoing, the operations of MCCI proved to be a source of much needed government revenue, both for the national and the local government. For 2017, MCC has remitted to the National Government the amount of P58.6 Million in taxes.
Furthermore, MCCI has so far, accumulated the amount of P6.2 Million in local business taxes which will be paid to the Municipality of Carmona for 2017. MCCI believes that it is a cockpit operator that pays the correct and substantial tax due to the national government.
MCC will also pay around P12 Million as corporate income tax