For Jay Sanchez and Ray Roberto, today\u2019s ban on cockfighting is truly a sad day not only for the CNMI but also for all the U.S. territories that look at this bloodsport as part of their culture and tradition and passed on by generations of gamecock aficionados.<\/p>\n
Both even strongly believe that criminalizing the centuries-old game is hypocritical in some ways, considering that the Commonwealth recently legalized cannabis use and the Legislature passed a casino law despite the local electorate repeatedly rejecting it in referendums.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s unfair because people of the CNMI and our representative in U.S. Congress as well as non-voting delegates from the other U.S. territories all opposed it but they still passed the law,\u201d said Roberto, alluding to the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 or the Farm Bill that made cockfighting in all U.S. jurisdictions, including in Guam and in the CNMI, illegal.<\/p>\n
Unlike Guam and Puerto Rico, which already said they will be defying the federal ban on cockfighting, the administration of Gov. Ralph DLG Torres and the CNMI Legislature have remained mum on the issue. <\/p>\n
Sanchez even put up $100 just to entice lawmakers to come down to his cockfighting pit along As Lito in Chalan Kanoa and see for themselves what the islands and its people would be losing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope they [lawmakers] show up or even say something because they\u2019re so silent. I hope I see them and they do something. You know, if this was the casino they\u2019ll bend backwards but, I guess because this is not the casino, they\u2019re so silent. I guess they don\u2019t really care for something that has happened here for 400 years. They say it was introduced by the Spanish so if the Spanish were here in 1571, so since then,\u201d said Roberto, who supplies the feeds to cockfighting breeders.<\/p>\n
He said there\u2019s actually some parallels between cockfighting and marijuana.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just read that Puerto Rico just passed a bill similar to our marijuana law where they legalized cockfighting again. There\u2019s no difference really between cockfighting and marijuana. The feds say it\u2019s illegal but the states [or territories] can pass marijuana bills that turn marijuana legal. There\u2019s no difference. So, I guess they don\u2019t care for something as old and historic as that. But the casino, which is only a couple of years, they\u2019re already bending backwards for them because cockfighting doesn\u2019t bring revenue for them. They don\u2019t care,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
After today when the cockfighting ban takes effect, Roberto said there might be some who would go underground.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust like speeding, there\u2019s speed limits but people still go speeding. The seatbelt law requires everybody to wear their seatbelts but you see police officers still issuing tickets for those. I guess just because you passed something and made it illegal doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s [going to] stop anything. I think people will continue to do what they\u2019ve done the last 400 years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Roberto also had some choice words for those who would take advantage of the offer of a $2,500 reward to anyone who reports an individual or set of individuals who violate the federal law.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhoever wants to get their $2,500 and be a snitch, I guess you can. It\u2019s a free and democratic country, but remember that you do have to come and testify in court because whoever that defendant is and whoever you snitched on is entitled to confront their witnesses and whoever snitches must come forth and testify in court.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reward was offered by the U.S.-based Animal Wellness Foundation and Animal Wellness Action.<\/p>\n
For Sanchez, the ban is a double whammy of sorts; he will not only lose a sport he loves but severely hurts his livelihood as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, we\u2019re operating at a loss because\u2026Super Typhoon Yutu came and just ripped this place apart. We had to rebuild. That cost an arm and a leg and already we paid the Saipan Mayor\u2019s Office $40,000 for a license to operate.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said cockfighting has been a part of his life for the better part of the last 35 years. \u201cI\u2019ve met some of the best people I\u2019ve come across in my livelihood through this activity. Some of the best lessons I learned in my livelihood I\u2019ve learned through this\u2014responsibility, respect, camaraderie, economics, everything!\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanchez intimated that the CNMI can defy the federal ban due to the Covenant it signed with the U.S.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo we need to defy the ban? We don\u2019t! Why? Because it\u2019s legal. Right now, we have the legal right to operate. \u2026As stated by Saipan Local Law 9-8, Tinian Local Law 6-2, Rota Local Law 7-2. These laws make it legal for us to operate cockfighting in the CNMI. \u2026The Covenant was written to protect all the laws we established and the rights of the citizens of the CNMI. \u2026If the Covenant gives you that right, what are you afraid of?\u201d <\/p>\n
Feds will enforce law<\/p>\n
Shawn Anderson, U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, said in a statement that his agency will fully enforce the cockfighting ban.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026With the enactment of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, Congress has effectively criminalized every aspect of the animal fighting industry nationwide. Beyond criminal enforcement of this new provision, our office may also seek civil forfeiture of any property involved in or facilitating such an offense. Courts may also order a defendant to make restitution payments for the costs of caring for seized animals.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFederal law enforcement resources are not sufficient to permit the prosecution of every alleged offense over which federal jurisdiction exists. Some may wonder whether this crime is worth our time. Others may believe it is past time to finally act. The public should know that our office will make every effort to pursue violations of this statute within the available resources of the Department of Justice,\u201d his statement read.<\/p>\n
Loss of income<\/strong><\/p>\n Bogs Dayrit, who is responsible for tying the 3- to 4-inch blades on the legs of the gamecocks, said the ban is unfortunate. <\/p>\n He earns an extra $120 a week from the operations of the cockfighting pit, not only for \u201carming\u201d the gamecocks but also tending to the wounded fowls after a fight.<\/p>\n With cockfighting now illegal, he fears that those who bet in the bloodsport will now go back to playing poker or try their luck in the casino.<\/p>\n Henry Hofschneider, the Saipan Mayor’s Office special assistant, admitted the federal prohibition will have a negative effect on their coffers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will no longer have the opportunity to collect and receive the current sole license fee of $40,000 or any amount in license fee in the future. The fee we collect have been used to support the operation of the mayor’s office, e.g., equipment rental, purchase of supplies, safety gear for field operation employees, repair and maintenance of equipment, purchase of replacement parts for the office’s road maintenance equipment, etc.,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u2018More than a pastime\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Former House speaker Ralph Demapan laments the death of cockfighting in the CNMI and the territories of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, citing its role in the local culture and history. Saying it\u2019s one of the few local practices \u201cstill passed down by our elders today.\u201d<\/p>\n He said many of the islands\u2019 local families pass on years of cockfighting secrets, traditions, and also superstition to the next generation, \u201cso it\u2019s more than just a pastime entertainment or sport.\u201d<\/p>\n Demapan asserted that cockfighting is well regulated by the local government and respected not only by many of the indigenous people but also a large segment of the Filipino community. <\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, such a ban will inevitably result in underground and illegal cockfighting activities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n By criminalizing cockfighting in the CNMI, the federal government will be making outlaws of law-abiding citizens, Sanchez said. He said it was only a few years ago that local lawmakers passed a law that made the exact opposite of marijuana users.<\/p>\n \u201cI think this ban is going to make criminals of good people. Last year we passed the cannabis law and we made good people out of criminals\u2026 And now because of this ban, now you catch any of this people at a chicken fight, you catch them holding their gamecocks or flushing gamecocks together, the slightest thing\u2026sometimes they get you by just ownership. You\u2019re gonna make criminals out of them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For Jay Sanchez and Ray Roberto, today\u2019s ban on cockfighting is truly a sad day…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[900],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-314480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=314480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314480\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=314480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=314480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=314480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}